This seabird is endemic to Macquarie Island and the nearby Bishop and Clerk islets. It fishes in inshore water and breeds in colonies on rocky shores and stacks.
Breeding adults are black and white, with a black forehead crest, a blue eye-ring, brown iris and orange caruncles above the grey bill. The feet range from pink to purple-grey. The sexes look alike, and juveniles are browner than adults.
It stays around the island year-round and feeds on small benthic fish in inshore waters. It nests colonially on exposed rocky shores and stacks, building low nests from vegetation, algae, guano, and mud.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.