The upper parts of all subspecies are brown, and the wings are mottled with oval-shaped white spots.

The chequered subspecies have these reticulated patterns on the underparts, on the head, the upper parts of the back and the wings.

[3] There are three recognised subspecies: It feeds on insects, frogs, small rodents and even birds.

The breeding season for this species starts around February utilizing hollows in trees as nesting sites.

This species is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as least concern as it is still locally common and tolerant of habitat disturbance.