This honeyeater lives along eastern Australia's coast, especially in mangroves and nearby coastal vegetation. It also uses offshore islands and adjoining forests.
Its upperparts are dull olive-brown, with a dark facial mask and a yellow line below it. The pale underparts are streaked, and the throat has a scaly brown-and-yellow pattern.
It feeds on nectar and invertebrates, including marine snails and crabs. Birds forage among mangrove foliage, flowers, trunks and roots, and sometimes use nearby woodland, parks and gardens.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.