Synthliboramphus craveri
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
Craveri's murrelet (Synthliboramphus craveri) is a small seabird which breeds on offshore islands in both the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California off the Baja peninsula of Mexico. It also wanders fairly regularly as far as central California in the US, primarily during post-breeding dispersal. It is almost never seen from or near the shore. With an estimated population of 6,000-10,000 breeding pairs, its population is listed as vulnerable.
The Craveri's murrelet is a small black and white auk with a small head and thin sharp bill. It resembles the closely related Scripps's murrelet, with which it shares the distinction of being the most southerly living of all the auk species.
The Craveri's murrelet has a partial neck collar (Scripps's has none), and dusky underwings (Scripps's has white underwings). Craveri's black face mask dips a bit further down the face compared to the Scripps's. Both species can be also separated by voice. Craveri's murrelet also has a tendency to hold its tail upward when sitting on the water, a trait Scripps's does not show.
Craveri's murrelet feeds far out at sea on larval fish such as herring, rockfish... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bahía de Loreto National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Craveri's Murrelet sighting in Channel Islands National Park on a given day, based on 39 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 208th most-seen of the 276 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Craveri's Murrelet in Channel Islands National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to July, the lowest months. That is one of Channel Islands National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 60 mm in January.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Craveri's Murrelet sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Craveri's Murrelet sightings, Channel Islands National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Bahía de Loreto National Park (Mexico, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Craveri's Murrelet is recorded against all the birds logged in Channel Islands National Park (39 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
