Greater shearwaters are a marine species distributed throughout the region of the Atlantic ocean.
Puffinus gravis breed in the far south Atlantic, mainly on the islands of the Tristan da Cunha group, the Falkland Islands, and Gough Island. P. gravis then migrates to the North Atlantic during the winter, reaching noth-east Canada and sometimes reaching as far north as Greenland. Migration to the breeding grounds involves a flight east, past Britain and Iberia, than turning south to reach their Southern Hemisphere breeding grounds. Colouring is unique with a combination of pale underparts with a poorly defined dark patch on the belly. White bands of plumage occur across the uppertail-coverts and also across the hindneck, emphasizing the Greater Shearwaters strongly capped appearance.