This shearwater has the typically "shearing" flight of the genus, dipping from side to side on stiff wings with few beats, the wingtips almost touching the water, though in light winds it has a more flapping flight than that of its larger relatives.

Its bill is more slender than that of Manx, and its dark eye stands out against the surrounding white area.

The subantarctic shearwater was also considered conspecific (Onley & Scofield 2007, Gill et al. 2010) It breeds in colonies on islands and coastal cliffs, nesting in burrows which are only visited at night to avoid predation by large gulls.

It is silent at sea, but at night the breeding colonies are alive with raucous cackling calls.

[2] The little shearwater usually produces a clutch of one clear white egg, measuring around 51 by 35 millimetres (2.0 by 1.4 in).