• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic note
Puffinus assimilis (not including baroli) and P. elegans (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) were previously lumped as P. assimilis, under which baroli was also subsumed, following Brooke (2004).

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2014	Least Concern

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2)	32,100,000	medium
Number of locations		-
Severely Fragmented		-

	Value	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
No. of mature individuals	100000-499999	medium	estimated	2004
Population trend	decreasing		suspected	-
Decline (3 years/1 generation past)		-	-	-
Decline (5 years/1 generation past)		-	-	-
Decline (10 years/1 generation past)		-	-	-
Decline (10 years/3 generation future)		-	-	-
Decline (10 years/3 generation past and future)		-	-	-
Number of subpopulations		-	-	-
Percentage in largest subpopulation		-	-	-
Generation length (yrs)	18	-	-	-

Population justification: Based on data reviewed by Brooke (2004), the global population is thought to number over 100,000 pairs, assumed to equate to over 200,000 mature individuals. Thus, the population is placed in the band 100,000-499,999 mature individuals. The total population is therefore assumed to number c.300,000-750,000 individuals.

Trend justification: The population is suspected to be in decline owing to predation by invasive species.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding	Non-breeding	Passage
Australia	extant	native		yes	yes
Cook Islands	extant	uncertain
Fiji	extant	uncertain
French Southern Territories	extant	native		yes	yes
New Caledonia (to France)	extant	uncertain
New Zealand	extant	native		yes	yes
Norfolk Island (to Australia)	extant	native		yes	yes
Pitcairn Islands (to UK)	extant	uncertain
Tonga	extant	uncertain

Country/Territory	IBA Name
New Zealand	Curtis & Cheeseman Islands
New Zealand	Kermadec (offshore)
New Zealand	Mercury Islands
New Zealand	Ruamaahua Aldermen Islands

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Grassland	Subantarctic	major	breeding
Grassland	Temperate	suitable	breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands	major	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Rocky Shoreline	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	major	breeding
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	major	non-breeding
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	major	breeding
Marine Oceanic	Mesopelagic (200-1000m)	major	non-breeding
Marine Oceanic	Mesopelagic (200-1000m)	major	breeding
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Felis catus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success

Purpose	Primary form used	Life stage used	Source	Scale	Level	Timing
Food - human	-	-	-		non-trivial	recent
Food - human	-	-	-		non-trivial	recent
Food - human	-	-			non-trivial	recent

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Species factsheet: Puffinus assimilis. Downloaded from http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/little-shearwater-puffinus-assimilis on 28/05/2023. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2023) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://datazone.birdlife.org on 28/05/2023.