This apalis was surveyed in Mdando Forest in Tanzania's Southern Highlands. A recent field survey recorded birds moving through the canopy in pairs or small parties.
An adult in an African Bird Club photograph has a grayish crown and back, a rufous face, throat, and breast, and pale lowerparts. The caption assigns subspecies chapini but notes that the bird does not fit it completely.
In the Mdando Forest survey, pairs or small parties were usually seen moving through the canopy at about 1,800–2,200 m.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.