The dark colouration on the face extends below the eye and is sharply separated from the white throat.

The bill is dark grey or brown and the legs and feet are mainly pale pink.

The bird flies low over the water on stiff wings with a mixture of short glides and periods of rapid flapping.

Townsend's shearwater (P. auricularis) is very similar but has dark undertail-coverts, a shorter tail and a less sharp boundary between the black and white on the face.

It was described as a new species Puffinus newelli in 1900 by the American ornithologist Henry Wetherbee Henshaw using specimens obtained by Brother Matthias Newell from residents of Maui.

It dives into the water to catch its prey, swimming down to a depth of up to 10 meters using its wings to move forward.

The nest site is a burrow dug into a steep slope, usually sheltered by uluhe (Dicranopteris linearis ferns).

It has declined due to habitat loss and predation by introduced species such as mongooses, rats, cats and barn owls.

[13] Young birds in particular are attracted to the lights of urban areas at night and many die in collisions with power lines and buildings.