The medium-sized Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater has a grey crown scalloped brown, a mottled grey-brown back, a white cheek with spiny bristles to below the ear, and an orange-brown throat and chest. The underparts are white, streaked brown, the wings are grey, with white-edged feathers, and the long tail is dark grey-brown with white tips. The pale blue-grey eye is surrounded by bare pinkish skin and the pink bill has a black tip. Young birds are browner and have yellow cheek spines. Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters are sociable and aggressive, and are often seen or heard in large flocks, foraging high in trees.
