- Synthliboramphus hypoleucus
Identification
Length 9-9¾ inches (23–25 cm), wingspan 15 inches (38 cm)
- Slender black bill
- Black upperparts with greyish tinge
Similar Species
Distinguished from two other murrelets in range, Craveri's and Marbled, by white wing linings, shorter bill and less black on face than Craveri's, longer bill and more solidly black upperparts than Marbled. The white crescent in front of and above eye distinguish this species from Scripps's Murrelet.
Distribution
Nests on Los Coronados, Guadalupe, and San Benito islands off the coast of Baja California, Mexico.
Outside of the breeding season, it ranges along the continental shelf from Baja California north, frequently to northern California and more rarely to British Columbia.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
It was formerly considered conspecific with Scripps's Murrelet under the name Xantus's Murrelet.
Habitat
Nests on arid, rocky islands; otherwise pelagic in warm waters. Rarely seen from shore.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet consists of fish larva and other small items, such as anchovy and krill.
Breeding
They nest in small crevices or under thick bushes on dry islands in loose scattered colonies. The adults only visit the nest at night. The clutch consists of 1-2 eggs which are incubated for about a month. The chicks leave the nest two days after hatching joining up with the adults on the water.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Birdforum thread discussing the taxonomy of this species and the proposed split
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved January 2016)
- Neotropical birds
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Guadalupe Murrelet. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Guadalupe_Murrelet
External Links
With a populations estimated to total only 5,600 birds and a very small breeding range, Xantus's Murrelet is considered to be at high risk of extinction on several bird conservation lists:
BirdLife International: Vulnerable - http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=3311&m=0
Audubon WatchList 2007: Red - http://web1.audubon.org/science/species/watchlist/profile.php?speciesCode=xanmur
American Bird Conservancy WatchList 2007: Red - http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/science/watchlist/xantus_murrelet.html
U.S. Endangered Species Act: Candidate - http://ecos.fws.gov/species_profile/servlet/gov.doi.species_profile.servlets.SpeciesProfile?spcode=B098
