A small, active, mostly yellow-green warbler-like bird with an obvious white eye-ring. The two races have different breast and belly coloration: gray in the south and greenish in the north. Pairs are common in all habitats, where they form a strong component of mixed-species flocks. A sweet, rolling reedy warble that is disjointed and rambling is often the first sign that they are around. The Cape White-eye is similar to the Yellow White-eye, which has more lemon-colored underparts, and the Orange River White-eye, which has peach-colored flanks.