This small bird lives in forest and shrubland on New Zealand's South and Stewart Islands. A chattering flock moving high through the trees is often the first sign of its presence.
The face is grey and the underparts are light buff. The crown, back, rump, and tail are reddish brown, with a dark bar at the tail tip.
It uses a wide range of forest and shrubland, from beech and podocarp forest to scrub and regenerating forest. Flocks move through the canopy; larger flocks may form outside the breeding season.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.