They are grey, black, pale brown and white birds and two subspecies are recognised: C. l. leuconota occurs in the western Himalayas from western Afghanistan to Sikkim and C. l. gradaria occurs in the mountains of eastern Tibet and from eastern Nan Shan (Qinghai) to Yunnan and extreme northern Myanmar.

The birds forage in open country in pairs or small groups, feeding on grain, buds, shoots, berries and seeds.

They roost at night on cliffs, breeding in crevices where they build untidy stick nests and lay a clutch of usually two white eggs.

Young birds have narrow, pale buff margins to the feathers of the upper parts and wings.

[2][3] Two subspecies are recognized: They are resident birds in rocky hills of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.