Tiny bill, round body, and long, stick-like tail. The black, pink, and dusky white colouring is equally distinctive. Small parties usually move from bush to bush in a thin stream, calling as they go.

They are sociable birds; whole families may roost together in their elastic nest to keep warm. In winter they huddle together in parties to conserve energy, for they suffer badly in hard weather, especially when heavy snow or spells of hoar frost and glazed ice lock away their food. Fortunately they have the ability to rear large broods of young, so they are able to ‘bounce back’ given a few years when the winters are milder.