This large honeyeater is endemic to New Zealand. It occurs from forest to suburban gardens and moves locally as flowering and fruiting plants change through the seasons.
About 30 cm long, it looks black at a distance but shows an iridescent blue-green sheen on the head and wings in good light. The back and flanks are bronze-brown, with fine white feathers at the nape and two curled white throat tufts. The sexes look alike, though the male is larger.
It feeds mainly on nectar and honeydew, adding fruit and large invertebrates seasonally, especially during breeding. It follows flowering and fruiting plants, may defend a food tree from other birds, and pollinates flowers and disperses seeds of medium-sized fruit.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.