They are 4 to 5 inches long with a large, parrotlike beak. The males are olive-green with a yellow throat and a yellow stripe over the eye. Females are not as brightly colored and have smaller bills. It prefers drier forests and can be seen at lower elevations searching for insects and nectar. The bill is gray and slightly curved.
Females are a duller color.
Immature birds appear dull brown, while the adults are crimson breasted, with whitish under-tail and wings, possessing black legs and a slightly curved thin black bill.