The male has a white collar between its throat and breast, with olive upperparts and grey underparts. It takes small seeds in wet thickets and along streams.
Males have a black head and throat, grey nape, olive upperparts, and dark brown wings. A white collar separates throat and breast; females have a reduced or absent collar and grey underparts.
It occurs in papyrus swamps, lakeshore thickets, streamside shrubs and trees, and marshy forest edges. It eats small seeds, foraging in pairs or small groups and often hanging upside down while gleaning leaves and branches.
It breeds in the wet season and lays two to three eggs. It may reuse old nests of other species, particularly weavers.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.