Craveri's Murrelet

Photo by Glen Tepke
Pacific west of San Diego, California, USA, 20 July 2008

Synthliboramphus craveri

Identification

25cm

• Black upperparts
• White underparts
• Partial black collar (protrudes onto upper breast)
• Dusky underwings
• Long, slim bill
• Incomplete white eye-ring

Similar Species

Guadalupe Murrelet and Scripps's Murrelet lacks the collar and the black head does not come below the bill, which is shorter and thicker.

Distribution

Breeds on Islas Partida, Tiburón, San Jorge, San Esteban, Estanque, San Pedro Mártir, San Pedro Nolasco, San Francisco, Espíritu Santo and San Ildefonso in the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez), and possibly on the Pacific coast of Baja California, in Mexico^[2].

Winter range not well known but moves offshore and north.

Rare and irregular in waters off California in late summer and fall.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

It was formerly considered conspecific with Guadalupe Murrelet under the name Xantus's Murrelet.

Habitat

Sea and shores.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet consists almost entirely of fish.

Breeding

It is a colony nester, nesting in crevices or bushes or caves. The 2 eggs are incubated for 1 month.

Vocalisation

Call: a shrill whistle.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
2. BirdLife International

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Craveri's Murrelet. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 18 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Craveri%27s_Murrelet

External Links

Search for photos of Craveri's Murrelet in the gallery