Similar to Leach's storm petrel with the forked tail, long wings, but Leach's has a more deeply forked tail, a differently shaped (V-shaped or triangular) white rump, and a 'tern-like' flight, whereas the band-rumped storm-petrel has a more 'shearwater-like' flight.

[1] In 2016, the species was reported to have also started breeding on the Mauna Loa volcano on the island of Hawaii.

[2] Birds nest in colonies close to the sea in rock crevices and females lay a single white egg per breeding attempt.

Individuals feed by picking up prey items (invertebrates, small vertebrates and sometimes carrion) from the water surface.

Recent discoveries of 'cold season' and 'warm season' populations, which use the same nest sites at different times of year, and also differ in terms of vocalisations and moulting period, may hint at the existence of two 'cryptic species' within the currently understood limits of the species.