This honeyeater occurs in the hilly, montane and coastal woodlands and forests of southeastern Australia. A regional account also describes birds moving to lower areas in winter.
Adult males are dark gray above, lighter below, and have yellow and black wing patches, crescent-shaped breast marks, and white lines near the dark eye patch. The eye is red and the bill curves downward. Females are browner and less strongly marked.
It takes nectar from flowers, honeydew from eucalypts, and small invertebrates found under bark or caught in flight. Birds move quickly between plants, alone or in small noisy groups.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.