- 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
Xantus'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].
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
- 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
- BirdLife International
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Craveri's Murrelet. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 6 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Craveri%27s_Murrelet
