There are seven subspecies of little shearwater, three of which breed in the New Zealand region; the Kermadec little shearwater, kermadecensis, the North Island little shearwater, haurakiensis, the sub-Antarctic little shearwater, elegans. The Norfolk Island assimilis occasionally visits New Zealand.
Breeding is from mid June to late July in the Kermadecs, from early July to mid August around the northern North Island and in September in the sub-Antarctic.
The name 'Shearwater' arises from the use of a shearing flight technique to move across wave fronts with the minimum of active flight.
