The boldly-patterned head is brown with white eyebrows, moustachial stripe and throat and grey sides to the neck.

Females are similar but are duller and paler with a less well-defined head pattern.

It is fairly non-migratory but northern birds move south as far as southern China and Taiwan.

There are several records from Europe but many of these are considered to be escapes from captivity rather than genuine vagrants.

Pairs are monogamous and use the same area for breeding several years in a row.