Found exclusively on Chatham Island, New Zealand, it is one of the rarest birds in the world, believed to be extinct for over 100 years before its rediscovery in the 1970s.

[2] This medium-sized petrel has a brownish-grey head, neck, and upper breast, with white underparts.

Adults weigh 400–580 g. The bird nests in 1–3 m long burrows under dense forest.

[2] This discovery confirmed the link between the specimen collected by the Magenta and the live birds.

[2] The species is classified as critically endangered due to an assumed population decline in excess of 80% in the last 60 years and the fact that it is restricted to one small location.

[2][7] A conservation strategy is in place on the island to translocate chicks to an area where the main threats have been removed called the Sweetwater Secure Breeding Site.