It is endemic to the Cape Verde archipelago of Macaronesia in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of West Africa.

[2] The Cape Verde shearwater has a slim, dark bill, with head and upperparts darker than Cory's.

[7] Following a three-month absence, the mature birds arrive at their island breeding colonies in late February and March, where they nest in cliff hollows, on offshore rocks, and under large boulders.

Females lay a single egg and incubation takes place from May to July, with the chicks fledging from late September to November.

Although the species is nationally protected, the chicks are harvested by fishermen for food, with an estimated 5000 birds taken from their nests on Branco and Raso each year.