Male is iridescent green above, with a dark belly and maroon and bluish bands across the breast. Female is nondescript, with faint streaking across the pale yellow underparts. Found in forest, woodland, scrub, and savanna. Generally scarce and less common than other sunbird species. Vocalizations are high-pitched trills and jumbles. Very similar to Mariqua Sunbird but distinguished by slightly smaller size and shorter bill with a thinner base. Also very similar to Tsavo and Violet-breasted sunbirds, but male has a broader maroon breast band than the former, and both sexes slightly smaller and shorter-billed than the latter.