About 10 inches long, this diminutive seabird is usually seen by boat off the southwest coast of the U.S. It has streamlined shape, black above and white below, with a short tail and slender black bill. It's range overlaps with very similar Scripp's Murrelet, with which it was considered conspecific ("Xantus's Murrelet") and Craveri's Murrelet. This species has a distinctive face pattern, with the white in the lores wrapping up in front and over the eye. On Scripps's and particularly Craveri's the eye is completely surrounded by black. In flight, both Guadalupe and Scripps's show bright white underwings, while the underwings of Craveri's are dark gray.

Length: 25 (cm) Wingspan: 38 (cm)

Habitat:

Offshore waters; nests in crevices on rocky islands.

Behavior:

Rarely seen from shore. Swims on open ocean a few miles from land, often in pairs; adults visit nests at night. Bill is held pointed slightly upward.

Feeding:

Dives underwater to catch fish.