This petrel was first procured in the Kermadec group by Captain Carpenter of the whaling barque Costa Rica Packet. A speciman was presented by him to the British Museum and was described by Salvin in 1891. In the same year several others were collected on Raoul Island, or Sunday Island, by T. Bell.
The white-naped petrel was thought to be extinct as feral cats had annihilated the population on Raoul Island until 1969 when they were discovered to be nesting in good numbers on nearby Macauley Island.
On Macauley, it nests in burrows, generally on high, gently sloping areas with sedges and grass. On Raoul, it nested below 300 m on high-altitude ridges. It feeds mainly on squid.
It migrates to the north Pacific Ocean.
Pests which threaten the birds in the Kermadecs are gradually being eradicated by New Zealand's Department of Conservation.
Greytown, 2008
