The Peruvian Tern occurs along the Humboldt Current, from southern Ecuador to northern Chile. It is a small tern whose breeding sites also include dry plains inland from the coast.
The upperparts are bluish gray and the underparts pale gray and white. In breeding plumage the crown is black with a white forehead, and the yellow bill has a black tip.
It forms small breeding groups on dunes and dry plains near the coast. A nest is a shallow scrape in the ground, usually holding about two eggs.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.