Five subspecies are recognized:[2] Adult birds are around 18–20 cm (7–8 in) long, and have an overall olive brown plumage with a streaked white throat.

The melodious call has been likened to I'll wet you or you're cranky,[4] and is possibly the most musical of all whistlers.

The nest is a fragile bowl of twigs, grasses and bits of bark lined with softer plant material and bound with spiderwebs in the fork of a tree around 2 m (6.6 ft) above the ground.

A clutch of two or three oval eggs is laid; they are 20 x 28 mm and shiny cream with brown, black and lavender spots and blotches (more on larger end).

An uncommon species, it is considered of least concern on the global IUCN Red List,[1] but vulnerable in New South Wales due to habitat fragmentation and feral cats and foxes.