The flight action is also reflected in the name Pterodroma, from Ancient Greek pteron, "wing" and dromos, "runner".

The short, sturdy bills of these medium to large petrels are adapted for soft prey that they pick from the ocean surface.

Eleven species in this genus breed in the New Zealand region, and six of these are only found there.

[1] The genus Pterodroma was introduced in 1856 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte.

[3] The type species was subsequently designated as the great-winged petrel by the American ornithologist Elliott Coues in 1866.