Small and distinctive warbler-like bird, often difficult to see well. The male has a black head with contrasting white eyebrows and throat, gray upperparts, and striking pinkish-red underparts. The female has a buffy face, chest, and undertail coverts, whitish belly, and gray upperparts. Prefers canopy vine tangles and river edges, where it may occur lower; creeps through vegetation, alone or with mixed-species flocks, feeding on insects. Generally uncommon and inconspicuous. Plumage is unlike any other species in range. Song is a series of soft, rising whistles.