The grey-headed canary fly-catcher is a very small bird, typically around 15 cm long. This bird has a grey, green and yellow plumage. The head is completely grey and squarish in shape, while the bill is very flat.
These birds are mainly seen in open forests, plantations, groves and gardens. They prefer broad-leaved forests and similar wooded areas to breed. The females are in charge of building nests. It is generally cup shaped and bound by spider webs that are covered by or attached to moss. There may be three to four eggs in a nest at a time. These are very smart and curious birds. Their primary diet consists of insects which they catch by attacking in groups like soldiers. Sometimes, they may also hunt in pairs, but they do not mix with other kind of birds for hunting. They can be found perching on open tree branches.
The grey-headed canary flycatchers are very common in the Western Ghats, Nilgiri Hills, Central India and the Eastern Ghats. Outside India, they are also found in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and south China. They are very widely distributed around the globe, with several recognized subspecies.