The Grey-faced Petrel is blackish brown except for the pale grey forehead, sides of the face, chin and throat.  The black bill is stout, the legs and feet are black and the wings are long and narrow.  The call is ‘o-hi’ or ‘o-hoe’, uttered at dusk as they fly over their breeding colonies. Birds on the ground or in burrows utter a loud ‘or-wik’ and ‘si-si-si’.

They feed at night, mainly on squid and some fish and crustaceans.  

Breeding takes place in winter.  Adults return to clean out their burrows and court in March.  After a long pre-laying exodus of 2 months, the females return and late in June, early July lay one white egg in a burrow 0.5 - 2 metres long.  Both sexes incubate for spells of several days and the egg hatches from mid August to mid September after 51 – 58 days.  The chick is fed every 4 nights and finally departs from about December to late January not returning for 7 years to start breeding. 

The oldest recorded bird ever was found on Tiri in 2002.

Photography by: Emma Ross ©

References: Heather, B.D.; Robertson, H.A. 2000 The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand. Auckland, Viking.
Moon, G The Reed Field Guide to New Zealand Birds.