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We reviewed Sonoran Desert occurrences of Procellariiformes (albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, and storm-petrels) through August 1996. Most occurrences (27 of 35, 77.1%) were at the Salton Sea, California. Records show a non-random seasonal distribution between late April and late September of species that occur regularly off Mexico during summer. Procellariiform records correspond with annual southerly monsoon flows through the Gulf of California, and with concomitant increases in sea surface temperatures of adjacent waters off southwestern Mexico such that a more uniform habitat is established with the Gulf of California.