A large, dark petrel with a pale white chin. It stands out against the otherwise dark plumage like a small beacon. This is one of the most abundant petrels in the Southern Ocean. Yet it is rarely seen from land. It spends most of its life at sea. It follows fishing vessels and dives for squid. It returns to land only to breed. The plumage is uniformly dark grey-brown. It is so dark that it looks black. The white chin is the giveaway. It is a small patch of pale feathers under the bill. The bill is pale yellow with a dark tip. The legs are dark. The bird is unremarkable at first glance. But the white chin sets it apart. It feeds on fish, squid, and crustaceans. It dives from the surface or plunges shallowly. It follows fishing vessels. It takes discards and offal. Like many petrels, it is vulnerable to longline bycatch. The hooks catch them as easily as the fish. The flight is heavy and direct. It features slow, deep wingbeats. A white-chinned petrel in a storm is in its element. It rides the wind. It tilts from one gust to the next. Breeding takes it to remote subantarctic islands. The burrow is dug into soft soil on a steep slope. It is often under tussock grass. A single white egg is laid. Both parents share incubation. They take shifts of up to two weeks. The chick is fed on regurgitated squid oil. It fledges in about four months. In New Zealand, these birds breed on the Auckland Islands and Campbell Island. The populations are large but declining. The main threat is bycatch in longline fisheries. Thousands are caught each year in the Southern Ocean. The birds cannot breed fast enough to keep up. The call is a low, moaning croak. It is heard only at night on the breeding islands. The name 'karetai kauae mā' means 'white-chinned'. It fits. The numbers are not encouraging. It carries on.