 Males are dark grey above and pale grey beneath, while females have dark brown upper parts and a streaked breast.The population has been declining and the range contracting, being currently about , and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the species as "critically endangered", with the possibility that the bird could be wiped out by a tropical storm.Conservation efforts are being made by attempting to control the cats and rats which prey on the chicks, and this seems to have resulted in the population stabilising.