This finch feeds mainly on insects, foraging on tree trunks and vines, and using its large bill to lever open likely hiding places, probe dead leaves, and crush twigs and tree fern stems. It will strip bark in a search for scale insects.
The finch's diet consists mainly of insects, which it finds by scouring tree trunks and vines, using its large beak to uncover potential food sources, examine dead leaves, and break apart twigs and ferns. This behavior is also related to its search for scale insects on the bark of trees.