The Phoenix Petrel is a pelagic seabird with a dark brown head clearly set off from its white belly. It ranges over the central Pacific and takes squid and other prey near the sea surface.
Its head, back, throat and upper breast are dark grey-brown to chocolate-brown, contrasting with the white lower breast and belly. Pale strips mark the underwing; plumage varies little by age or sex.
At sea it flies in high-banked arcs and glides. On breeding islands it nests in a shallow surface scrape; both parents incubate the egg and care for the chick. It mainly eats squid, as well as fish and small arthropods.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.