The plumage of the nominate race has a rusty-coloured head with an ash-grey forehead and a broad black supercilium (stripe) over the eye.

There is a small amount of sexual dimorphism in the plumage, with the female having a narrow silver band across the breast.

Young birds resemble adults but with shorter wings and tails, and slightly darker plumage overall.

[6] The silver-breasted broadbillis found in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam.

[6] The silver-breasted broadbill eats invertebrates, primarily insects : grasshoppers, mantises, caterpillars, larvae, small land snails.