More slender body shape than other drummers, inside of pectoral fins orange/yellow and light-edged upper and lower tail margins with dusky bar inside. It occurs in mixed schools with the silver drummer on the west coast. It differs from the silver drummer in having a more forked tail, and lacks the black edge to the tail fin and the moustache-like marking under the eye. Although both species feed predominantly on seaweeds, the diets of the two species differ, the western buffalo bream eating mainly red algae and the silver drummer preferring brown algae.

• Max Size: 70 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 17.3-23.7°C
• Depth: 0-20m
• Habitat: Coral Reef, Rocky Reef
• Habitat Generalisation Index: 14
  Also referred to as the SGI (Species generalisation index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here

• IUCN Threat Status: Not Evaluated
• Occurrence: Widespread (64% of sites)
  Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
• Abundance: Many (19 per transect)
  Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.