Immature Northern Giant Petrels Macronectes halli visiting the coast of Peru

Northern Giant Petrels Macronectes halli breed on sub-Antarctic islands located north of the Antarctic Polar Front, with juveniles dispersing widely throughout the southern Pacific and Indian Oceans. We report the sightings at sea of 11 immature Northern Giant Petrels off the central and southern Peruvian coast, including the northernmost sighting of this species off the port of Callao (12°6.8′S, 77°36.5′W). All the sightings occurred between August and December. We also recovered the band of a 2.5-year-old Northern Giant Petrel that was captured incidentally in a longline in northern Chilean waters. This bird was banded as a chick on Macquarie Island and had traveled at least 10 700 km from its breeding site. Regular sightings suggest that Northern Giant Petrels have been regular non-breeding visitors to the coast of southern and central Peru during the last decade.