A tiny barbet with strongly speckled and streaked upperparts, uniformly lemon-colored underparts, and a distinctive yellow-gold forehead patch. Pairs occupy dry savanna, broadleaved woodland, and montane forest, where they forage mostly for small fruit. It has a distinctive repetitive “pok-pok-pok” call that can last for minutes and is often the first sign that a bird is present. Red-fronted Tinkerbird is almost identical but has a bright red (not yellow-gold) forehead patch, and its similar call is faster-paced and higher-pitched.