This whistler is sparsely distributed through arid and semi-arid inland southern Australia. Males have a black patch between the red eye and bill, while females are more uniformly brown.
Adult males are brownish-grey, with a black patch between the red eye and bill and an orange-rufous chin and throat. Females are more uniformly brownish-grey, lack the male throat pattern, and have a pale eye-ring.
In New South Wales it occurs in mallee and other habitats with a dense shrub layer. It forages on or near the ground and in the tops of small trees, mainly taking spiders and insects.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.