The first formal description of the Karoo chat was by the Swedish naturalist Johan August Wahlberg in 1855 under the binomial name Erithacus schlegelii.

[4] It was moved to its current genus, Emarginata, after molecular phylogenetic studies published in 2010 and 2012 found that Cercomela was polyphyletic.

Its underparts are white, the short straight bill, legs and feet are black and the eye is dark.

Its larger size and all-white outer tail feathers prevent confusion with the tractrac or sickle-winged chats.

The Karoo chat builds a cup-shaped nest of straw and leaves on the ground, usually under a bush or shrub.