The spectacled petrel was formally described in 1844 by the English ornithologist John Gould and given the binomial name Procellaria conspicillata.

[2] The genus Procellaria had been introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.

This can be sprayed out of their mouths as a defence against predators and as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights.

[7] Finally, they also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate their bodies, due to the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe.

[9] In 1998 the South African ornithologist Peter G. Ryan argued that the spectacled petrel should be considered as a separate species as the two taxa not only differed in their plumage but also in their vocalization.

[6][11] Further justification for promoting the spectacled petrel to species status was provided by a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2009 that found significant differences in the DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene.

It only breeds on Inaccessible Island which is part of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago in the South Atlantic.

[1] A subsequent study gave cautious hope for a continuing recovery of the population from an all-time low of merely some dozens of pairs in the 1930s.

[14] Indeed, it appears as if the species' numbers have been underestimated in more recent years as an accurate census is difficult due to the rugged terrain of its island home.

[13] The spectacled petrel is threatened by interactions with longline fisheries which kills hundreds of birds every year as they become entangled in the fishing lines and drown.