It is a black and white bird, similar in appearance to the African pied wagtail, although their ranges do not overlap.

Its facial features and distinctive voice distinguish it from other black and white wagtails in southeastern Asia.

Its typical habitat is rocky areas beside fast-flowing stretches of river where seasonal flooding occurs.

Territorial birds are associated with fast-flowing braided sections of river which flow through a distinctive landscape of rocks, bushes adapted to prolonged seasonal submersion, mainly Homonoia riparia, with sandbars and gravel shoals.

The species concentrates along earthen banks and associated overhanging vegetation, and patches of exposed sand and silt, where they occur in pairs, some of which are highly territorial, and small flocks of less than a dozen birds.