The Vanuatu white-eye was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae.

[3] Gmelin based his account on the "Yellow-fronted flycatcher" from the island of Tanna in the Vanuatu archipelago that had been described in 1783 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his book A General Synopsis of Birds.

The species occurs in a variety of habitats including forest, plantations and gardens from sea level to the mountains.

The neat, cup-shaped nest is built 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) or more above the ground and is made of grass, pieces of bark and spider webs.

The varied diet includes insects, nectar and fruit such as lantana berries and wild figs.