This sunbird lives in the highlands of Java. Males and females differ in color, and both show white feathers on the flanks.
The male has a rose-red throat and chest, an iridescent blue-green forehead patch and tail, and a smoky dark-grey belly. The female has a grey head, buffish belly, and brown tail. Both sexes have an olive-brown back and a white flank streak.
It visits flowers in foothill forest, at forest edges, and in scrub above the tree line. Breeding has been recorded in January, March–June, and November–December. It builds a pouch-shaped nest from moss and other materials, suspended high in a tree.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.