[2] White-headed petrels breed alone or in colonies in burrows dug among tussocks and herbfields on the subantarctic Antipodes and Auckland Islands.

[1] The white-headed petrel distinct with a pale white head and prominent dark eye patch.

The bill is stout black with a large sharp hook.

The legs are pinkish to whitish with black patches on the toes.

[4] The calls are mainly higher-pitched shrill whistles ti-ti-ti or wik-wik-wik and lower-pitched moans ooo-er and or-wik sounds.