It is a small stout insect-eating bird, found in dry broadleaf woodland and thorn scrub.

The nest is a small neat cup low in a tree or bush.

The adult male has a dark grey crown and back, black eye mask and white throat.

It has a black rump and tail, and its wing are black with white edging to the flight feathers and a long white shoulder patch.

The pririt batis hunts by flycatching, or by taking prey from the ground like a shrike.