A small Hawaiian honeycreeper, it uses its crossed bill to find insects and spiders in ʻōhiʻa buds and is now believed to remain only on Hawaiʻi Island.
The tips of the bill are offset and crossed.
It feeds mainly on insects and spiders, using its crossed bill to pry open ʻōhiʻa buds, small seed pods, and galls. It also drinks nectar from flowers and actively forages in treetops.
It nests in cavities in old ohia and koa trees.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.