Guadalupe murrelet
The Guadalupe murrelet, also known as Xantus’s murrelet, is a small black-and-white seabird of the Pacific’s California Current. It breeds on arid islands off California and Mexico, from Guadalupe Island to the San Benito Islands. It nests in crevices, caves, or under dense bushes in loose colonies, lays two eggs, and incubates for about a month. The chicks are precocial and leave the nest within two days to head to the sea with their parents. After breeding, the birds roam at sea, often migrating north toward southern California.
They feed far at sea on larval fish such as anchovies and sardines, and sometimes on other small fish, usually near large predatory fish like tuna. They are wing-propelled divers and are often seen in pairs, sometimes feeding together. They can take off from water without taxiing.
The Guadalupe murrelet is endangered. Its main threats are oil spills, since many nests are near busy shipping lanes, and introduced predators like rats and feral cats. Predator-control efforts are helping in some areas. Scientists split this species from the Scripps’s murrelet in 2012 after finding differences in appearance, calls, and genetics. Conservation remains important to protect this southern auk.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 05:29 (CET).