This small honeybird has a patchy range south of the Sahara. It searches leaves and branches for insects and lays its eggs in other birds' nests.
It is about 13 cm long and weighs 12–18 g. Its upperparts are grey-brown, its bill is slender and sharp, and the outer tail feathers are white in flight.
It gleans scale insects and other insects from leaves, twigs, and bark, and sometimes catches prey in the air. It is a brood parasite of cisticolas and warblers.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.