Home Application Download FAQ
English
English
繁體中文
日本語
Español
Français
Deutsch
Pусский
Português
Italiano
한국어
Nederlands
العربية

Guadalupe Murrelet

A species of Ancient and Southern Murrelets
Scientific name : Synthliboramphus hypoleucus Genus : Ancient and Southern Murrelets

Guadalupe Murrelet, A species of Ancient and Southern Murrelets
Botanical name: Synthliboramphus hypoleucus
Genus: Ancient and Southern Murrelets
Guadalupe Murrelet (Synthliboramphus hypoleucus) Photo By BJ Stacey , used under CC-BY-NC /Cropped and compressed from original

Description

This species is a small black and white auk with a small head and thin sharp bill. It resembles the closely related Scripps's and Craveri's murrelet, with which it shares the distinction of being the most southerly living of all the auk species. It breeds from Guadalupe Island south to the San Benito Islands. After the breeding season it disperses locally at sea northward up to southern California in the United States.
Size
23 - 41 cm
Life Expectancy
10-15 years
Feeding Habits
Guadalupe Murrelet predominantly consumes fish and invertebrates, employing diving tactics to forage. With specialized hunting at dawn and dusk, this species exhibits unique adaptations for capturing prey in undersea environments.
Habitat
Guadalupe Murrelet predominantly inhabit marine environments, especially offshore and along sea coasts within warmer waters relative to most alcids. Their breeding grounds are typically found on islands, favoring steep sea cliffs, slopes, and canyons that offer secluded nesting areas. During the winter, these birds are primarily found well offshore, and although their exact wintering distribution is not fully understood due to identification challenges, there is an overlap with similar species.
Dite type
Piscivorous

General Info

Behavior

Guadalupe murrelet feeds far out at sea, often in association with large pelagic predatory fish like tuna, on larval fish like anchovies, sardines and Sebastes rockfish. Like all auks it is a wing-propelled diver, chasing down prey under the water with powerful wingbeats. There is some speculation that it may feed cooperatively in pairs, as it is almost always observed in pairs, even during the non-breeding season. It flies well, and can take off without taxiing. It nests in small crevices, caves and under dense bushes on arid islands in loose scattered colonies. It returns to the colony only at night, laying two eggs which are incubated for about a month. Like other synthliboramphine murrelets (e.g. the ancient murrelet) the chicks are highly precocial, leaving the nest within two days of hatching and running actively towards the sea, where the parents call to them. Once at sea the family swims to offshore waters. Little is known about the time at sea due to difficulties in studying them.

Species Status

By the end of the 20th century, the Xantus's murrelet complex was considered to be among the most endangered group of auk. This has changed since, but not because the present species' status has improved, but because other auks have become rarer. Guadalupe murrelet is mainly threatened by oil spills, as much of its population lives near the busy shipping lanes connecting Los Angeles to other ports. Because a large part of its small population nests in such a small area a single catastrophic oil spill could have far reaching implications. It is also threatened by introduced species such as rats and feral cats; this threat has been lessened lately by efforts to restore its habitat by removing introduced predators.
Guadalupe Murrelet (Synthliboramphus hypoleucus) Guadalupe Murrelet (Synthliboramphus hypoleucus) Photo By BJ Stacey , used under CC-BY-NC /Cropped and compressed from original

Scientific Classification

Download Picture Bird
Identify any bird by photo or sound in seconds
Cookie Management Tool
In addition to managing cookies through your browser or device, you can change your cookie settings below.
Necessary Cookies
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
Analytical Cookies
Analytical cookies help us to improve our application/website by collecting and reporting information on its usage.
Cookie Name Source Purpose Lifespan
_ga Google Analytics These cookies are set because of our use of Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about your use of our application/website. The cookies collect specific information, such as your IP address, data related to your device and other information about your use of the application/website. Please note that the data processing is essentially carried out by Google LLC and Google may use your data collected by the cookies for own purposes, e.g. profiling and will combine it with other data such as your Google Account. For more information about how Google processes your data and Google’s approach to privacy as well as implemented safeguards for your data, please see here. 1 Year
_pta PictureThis Analytics We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience. 1 Year
Cookie Name
_ga
Source
Google Analytics
Purpose
These cookies are set because of our use of Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about your use of our application/website. The cookies collect specific information, such as your IP address, data related to your device and other information about your use of the application/website. Please note that the data processing is essentially carried out by Google LLC and Google may use your data collected by the cookies for own purposes, e.g. profiling and will combine it with other data such as your Google Account. For more information about how Google processes your data and Google’s approach to privacy as well as implemented safeguards for your data, please see here.
Lifespan
1 Year

Cookie Name
_pta
Source
PictureThis Analytics
Purpose
We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience.
Lifespan
1 Year
Marketing Cookies
Marketing cookies are used by advertising companies to serve ads that are relevant to your interests.
Cookie Name Source Purpose Lifespan
_fbp Facebook Pixel A conversion pixel tracking that we use for retargeting campaigns. Learn more here. 1 Year
_adj Adjust This cookie provides mobile analytics and attribution services that enable us to measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, certain events and actions within the Application. Learn more here. 1 Year
Cookie Name
_fbp
Source
Facebook Pixel
Purpose
A conversion pixel tracking that we use for retargeting campaigns. Learn more here.
Lifespan
1 Year

Cookie Name
_adj
Source
Adjust
Purpose
This cookie provides mobile analytics and attribution services that enable us to measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, certain events and actions within the Application. Learn more here.
Lifespan
1 Year
Download