A seabird that has only ever been seen in Australia twice has turned up on southern Queensland's Darling Downs.

The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection says a bulwer's petrel was found exhausted at the Oakey Aviation Base a fortnight ago but died a day after it was found.

Threatened species director Wolf Sievers says the North Pacific Ocean seabird has never been seen in Queensland before and was probably carried into Australia by recent cyclonic weather.

Mr Sievers says the bird's closest known breeding grounds are on islands off the coast of China and Japan, and further east to the Hawaiian Islands.

The petrel has been given to the Queensland Museum.