Small tanager-like bird with sharply hooked, slightly upturned bill, male all black and female yellow-olive. Both sexes show a white flash under the wing, better visible in flight. Usually alone or in pairs, hyperactively piercing flowers in shrubby areas, forest edges, and canopy in second growth forests. Voice a series of fast and repetitive soft chattering notes. No similar flowerpiercers within its very limited range. Endemic to the Turimiquire and Paria regions of northeastern Venezuela.