Males have a narrow red breast band and pale gray belly; females are gray-brown. At Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, records describe it as common in coastal thicket, feeding mainly on insects while also taking nectar.
The male has a pale gray belly and narrow red breast band; the female is gray-brown.
At Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, the species was recorded as a common breeding resident or visitor in coastal thicket. There it was mainly insectivorous but also took nectar.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.