It is widespread across eastern and southeastern Australia, in open sclerophyll forests from coastal dunes to high-altitude subalpine areas, and woodlands along creeks and rivers.

Comparatively short-billed for a honeyeater, it is thought to have adapted to a diet of flies, spiders, and beetles, as well as nectar and pollen from the flowers of plants, such as Banksia and Grevillea, and soft fruits.

The yellow-faced honeyeater was first described, and placed in the genus Sylvia, by ornithologist John Latham in his 1801 work Supplementum Indicis Ornithologici, sive Systematis Ornithologiae.

[2][3] French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot described it as Melithreptus gilvicapillus in 1817, and English zoologist George Robert Gray as Ptilotis trivirgata in 1869.

[15] The yellow-faced honeyeater is a medium-small, greyish-brown bird that takes its common name from distinctive yellow stripes on the sides of the head.

The juvenile is very similar to the adult, with slightly less streaking on the breast, an orange-brown tip on the bill, and a yellower gape; male and female birds are also similar, with the male being slightly larger (on average, 0.8 g (0.03 oz) heavier); and in the field there are no visible differences between the subspecies.

[12][15] One of the first birds heard in the morning, the yellow-faced honeyeater utters calls that are full and loud, and extremely varied.

[15] Across its range, the yellow-faced honeyeater is found in a variety of habitats—in open sclerophyll forests from coastal dunes to high-altitude subalpine areas, and often in riparian woodlands.

It most commonly dwells in open forests dominated by spotted gum (Corymbia maculata) with ironbarks and stringybarks, such as narrow-leaved ironbark (Eucalyptus crebra) and silver-leaved ironbark (E. melanophloia), with a light, shrubby understorey, and less often in dry, open forests and woodlands dominated by Angophora, Acacia, Banksia, Casuarina or Callitris, or in high-altitude, tall, open forests of alpine ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis) and woodlands dominated by snow gum (E. pauciflora) or white box (E. albens).

During the winter months of June and July, numbers are generally lower in Victoria and higher in Queensland, following their northward migration.

[19] There are resident populations of the yellow-faced honeyeater throughout its range, but it is for the most part a seasonal, latitudinal, daytime migrant.

During the autumn (March to May), it migrates north along the highlands and coastal fringe of eastern Australia to southern Queensland, to return in the spring (August to October) of the same year.

[24] Their flight is in one general direction, but is not in a straight line, as the flocks stay in vegetated areas, negotiate gaps in the mountain ranges, and detour around cities.

[25] The migration of many birds in Australia, including honeyeaters, has generally been described as occurring mainly in response to external environmental stimuli, such as food availability or an influx of water.

It is arboreal, foraging primarily among the foliage and flowers of trees, shrubs, and mistletoes, less often on branches and tree-trunk, and rarely on the ground.

[28] The yellow-faced honeyeater feeds on insects by gleaning, sallying, catching in flight, or probing in bark crevices.

The insects eaten are primarily Diptera (flies, mosquitoes, maggots, gnats, and midges), beetles, and spiders.

[20] They nest solitarily in all-purpose territories that both parents defend against conspecifics and other species including thornbills, spinebills and silvereyes, although the male is involved in more aggressive interactions than the female.

The success rate can be as low as 16% of eggs developing into fledged young, with nest failure, hot weather, heavy rain, human activity (including fungicide spraying and nest damage), egg destruction by brood parasites, and predation by brown snakes, cats, and currawongs, all recorded as contributing to brood failure.

Several ectoparasites, which can affect survival and reproductive fitness, have been found on the yellow-faced honeyeater: the mites, Ptilonyssus meliphagae and P. thymanzae, and Ixodes species ticks.

[41] In general, honeyeaters require extensive corridors of mature trees along their migratory routes, and flowering woodlands for nesting, so they are vulnerable to the effects of land-clearing, grazing and weed infestation.

The results of the field experiment did not support the "ecological trap" and "predator influx" theories, and contribute to a belief that fragmented habitats may not be as problematic as previously thought.