This common species appears to be extending its range into West Africa and has also occurred in Arabia, Madagascar, and Seychelles.

The breeding male has a white shoulder patch and a distinctive head pattern, with unfeathered yellow skin, and black forehead and throat wattles.

The extent to which these seasonal features develop increases with the age of the bird and some old females may show a weaker version of this plumage.

Breeding is linked to an abundant insect supply, and colonies will be abandoned, even with chicks in the nest, if, for example, locust swarms are destroyed by control measures.

[citation needed] It will scavenge at rubbish heaps, and frequently perches on livestock, feeding on insects disturbed by the animals and also removing ectoparasites.