The Fea's petrel is a small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus, Pterodroma. It was previously considered to be a subspecies of the soft-plumaged petrel, but they are actually not closely related at all. However, P. feae is very closely related to Zino's petrel and Desertas petrel, two other species recently split from P. mollis. The gadfly petrels are named for their speedy weaving flight, as if evading horseflies. The flight action is also reflected in the genus name Pterodroma, from Ancient Greek pteron, "wing" and dromos, " runner". This species is named after the Italian zoologist Leonardo Fea (1852-1903).

The gadfly petrels or Pterodroma are a genus of about 35 species of petrels, part of the seabird order Procellariiformes. The gadfly petrels are named for their speedy weaving flight, as if evading gadflies (horseflies). The flight action is also reflected in the name Pterodroma, from Ancient Greek pteron, "wing" and dromos, "runner".