South Georgian Diving Petrel

Kuaka Whenua Hou is a tiny, highly restricted diving petrel known in New Zealand from a single breeding population on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, where it is now treated as the Whenua Hou diving petrel. It is compact and dark above with white underparts and a short bill; it is extremely similar to common diving petrel and usually requires measurements or genetics for confirmation.

The surviving New Zealand population nests in coastal sand dunes on Whenua Hou and feeds in nearby waters. It pursues small crustaceans and fish underwater with its wings and returns to shallow burrows after dark.

South Georgian diving petrel is Threatened — Nationally Critical (NZ Threat Classification). Storm erosion, dune instability, native predators and a single tiny colony create acute risk. The Whenua Hou colony is strictly managed and not a public wildlife-viewing site; identification at sea is exceptionally difficult.