[3][4] The protea canary is 15–16 cm in length with a large pale bill.

The adult has grey-brown upperparts, a black chin, white throat and two thin buff wing bars.

It is an endemic resident breeder in the Western Cape Province, South Africa.

This species is found in mature protea scrub, tangled valley thickets and forests in the mountains of the Western Cape Province.

It feeds on seeds, (particularly those of proteas, Othonna amplericaules and Rhus anarcardia) and some fruit, nectar and shoots.