Very little is known about this species of petrel. It was not until the 1980s that it was determined that these petrels might be regular visitors far offshore of North America. It occurs in the South Pacific, nesting on rocky islets and cliffs off tropical oceanic islands in the Austral, Tuamotu, and Pitcairn groups. The bird has been recorded off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands and well off the Pacific Coast of the United States and in the southern Gulf of Alaska. Most reports of Murphy's petrels are over 40 miles offshore and the species reportedly has one of the greatest foraging ranges of any breeding seabird
