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Zino's Petrels are small seabirds. The cap, back, rump and uppertail are grey, the upperwings are dark-grey. The front, i.e., throat, breast, belly, vent and underside of the tail, is white. The underwing pattern is almost all grey, with white shoulder patches and a faint "W" in darker grey. The white face, with a black eye patch, is framed by a grey semi-collar. The bill is dark-grey.

Zino's Petrel has now been given species status and is no longer considered to be a race of the Soft-plumaged Petrel (Pterodroma mollis).

Zino's Petrels breed on ledges above 1650 m in the highlands of Madeira island, Portugal. In continental Europe only one bird has so far been reported, from Estaca de Bares, Observatorio de aves y entorno, A Coruna, Spain, in August 2024. Zino's Petrels overwinter at sea, where their range is largely unknown. There are very few confirmed sighting reports, mainly from the Madeira archipelago and the Azores, and one more location off Dare, North Carolina, USA.

When not nesting on high-altitude rock ledges (at night), Zino's Petrels will stay on the high seas - both outside the breeding season and while foraging at daytime during the breeding season.

J. Pires reports spotting Zino's Petrels from a ship between Madeira and Porto Santo island, Portugal, in November 2022. All sighting and photographic information presented on this page has kindly been contributed by J. Pires.