[2] The generic name Daphoenositta is derived from Greek daphoinos/δαφοινός, 'blood-red, tawny'[3] and sittē, a bird like a woodpecker mentioned by Aristotle.

Flocks of the birds forage in trees of all heights, often descending erratically down the trunks in a rather nuthatch-like fashion.

[6] Calls are a thin, high-pitched chwit becoming the louder, metallic tchweit-tchweit-tchweit of many birds combining in a constant call-and-response as they move towards another tree.

[6] In spring and summer (August to October in the north; September to December in the south), larger flocks break up into smaller breeding flocks, typically composed of a breeding pair, along with several unmated adults and immatures from the previous season.

[6] The nest is cone-shaped, made of bark, fibres and spider-webs, and placed 5 to 25 m above ground in the fork of a branch or on an exposed limb.