It was first described by Archibald Campbell and Samuel White in The Emu from specimens collected during an expedition by the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union to the Capricorn Group in October 1910.

Should further research prove them different, we venture to suggest the name Z. chlorocephalus, or Green-headed White-eye (on account of the "clean-cut" markings of that colour), the following being the general description: – Male.

Its habitat comprises typical cay vegetation of the region, mainly of Pisonia grandis forest forming a closed canopy up to 15 m in height, with areas of Casuarina equisetifolia, Silky Celtis, Sweet Sandpaper Fig, Octopus Bush and associated shrubs, as well as areas around human habitation, such as the Heron Island resort.

With the onset of the nesting season, males start roosting by themselves and singing from a high, but often concealed, perch at dawn as they establish, or reestablish, their territory.

[5] Beginning as early as August, nests are built in dense foliage, usually in a terminal fork of a Pisonia branch, though several other plants may be used.

The cup-shaped nest is constructed by both members of the pair from dry grasses and other vegetable material, as well as cobwebs and various kinds of anthropogenic debris such as toilet paper, fishing line and human hair.

They consume a wide range of plant and animal food, including insects and other small invertebrates, fruit and nectar.

[5][8] The song of the Capricorn silvereye is a warble containing a series of separate notes; it is complex, with a well-organised hierarchy of syllables and sequences.

There was also evidence of the effects of density dependence in the size of the adult population, and with fledgling survival decreasing with the numbers of birds attempting to breed.

Young fledglings are vulnerable to predation by eastern reef egrets in the trees, and by silver gulls and buff-banded rails on the ground.