The little wattlebird was formally described by ornithologist John Latham in 1801 under the binomial name Merops chrysoptera.

[2] The species is now placed in the genus Anthochaera that was introduced by Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827.

[8] The little wattlebird is found in banksia/eucalypt woodlands, heathlands, tea-tree scrub, sandplain-heaths, lantana thickets, wild tobacco, parks and gardens.

[8] The female wattlebird generally constructs the nest,[7] which is a loose, untidy cup of twigs, lined with shredded bark, and placed from 1 to 10 m high in the fork of a banksia, tea-tree or eucalypt sapling.

[7] Little wattlebirds feed on nectar obtained with a long, brush-tipped tongue, adapted for probing deep into flowers.