This small bird has records from forests in western and central Africa. The historical description gives it a black head, shoulders, flight feathers, and tail, a gray-brown back, and a whitish belly. At Luki Biosphere Reserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, small groups were observed in the forest-edge canopy.
The historical description records glossy black on the head, neck, shoulders, tail, and some flight feathers; the back and scapulars are gray-brown, and the underside is dirty white.
A survey at Luki Biosphere Reserve recorded one to three birds in the forest-edge canopy; they sometimes joined mixed-species flocks.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.