10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2015

The largest of the Andean flamingos is native to the wetlands and shallow alkaline lakes of the high Andes mountain range, from southern Perú to northwestern Argentina and northern Chile. Egg harvesting to sell as food was intensive then, with thousands taken annually from the breeding colonies in Chile.

Chile 154

Chile Endangered Species Eggs Argentina 154

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 8, 2015

The Brown Pelican and the Peruvian Pelican are closely related and once were considered the same species. The Peruvian Pelican is restricted to the cold water of the Humboldt Current along the coast of Peru and Chile. The species reached pre-pesticide numbers by the late 1990s and was fully delisted in 2009.

Pelicans 157

Pelicans North America Peru Fish 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2019

So, it just might be that pisco – the beloved South American grape brandy contentiously claimed by both Peru and Chile – is the only spirit named after birds. Having dipped on this species just a few days earlier in the Cusco highlands, I was determined to return home with a least one memento of this iconic vulture of the high Andes.

Peru 121

Peru San Francisco Parrots Chile 121