Slim, long-tailed, pretty waxbill. The upperparts are pale brown and the underparts and tail blue. Males have a distinctive magenta mark on the cheek. Generally common in a wide variety of open habitat, including dry thornscrub, all types of savanna, villages, and cultivation. Usually in pairs or small flocks. The common call is a high-pitched “tsee-tsee.” In the area of overlap, females are very difficult to separate from Southern Cordonbleu. They tend to show more extensive brown on the cheek, but are most safely identified by association with red-cheeked males.