This small tit is endemic to the Philippines. It is recorded in the northern Sierra Madre of Luzon and on Mindanao, where it uses forest from lowlands to mountains. A white line runs from the forehead above the eye.
A small, dark-headed and dark-backed tit with a white stripe from the forehead over the eye. Males have black underparts, while females are brown; birds on Mindanao show a white wing mark.
It is found in primary-forest canopy and edges, as well as secondary forest. BirdLife treats it as highly forest-dependent, with records up to about 1,150 m. eBird notes a rapid trill and short calls as identification cues.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.