It is ashy gray with a blackish crest and the iris is conspicuously white.

[3] The female lays two eggs in a cup-shaped nest during the southern summer.

In February and March, it moves from areas of higher elevation, where it inhabits humid secondary forests, to lower valleys to feed on ripe guavas.

Nectar, insects and small lizards enrich its range of food.

In the earlier days of the settlement of Réunion it was hunted for food on a large scale, and was considered as tasty as the ortolan bunting (Emberiza hortulana).