This is the smallest friarbird, with a curved bill without a casque and a bare blue-gray face patch. It feeds on nectar and invertebrates in trees; some southeastern populations are seasonal visitors.
Its medium-length curved bill has no casque. It has a bare blue-gray face patch, brown-gray upperparts, and fine white streaks on the breast. Females are slightly smaller; young birds are browner above, with more yellow on the chin and throat.
It feeds alone, in pairs, or in small flocks, mostly in trees. Its diet is mainly nectar and invertebrates; it sometimes also eats flowers, fruit, and seeds.
Both parents build the nest, the female incubates the eggs, and both parents feed the young.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.