Comment 16 for bug 1172818

If you have not chatted with a Facebook contact via Pidgin before, it will appear as -<email address hidden> in your chat list, without profile picture or online status. If the person comes online and you write something, it seems like personal information is exchanged, after which online status, profile picture, and real name (instead of *@chat.facebook.com) appear.

At least that's what's happening for me right now. See attachment for a screenshot this process.