It was named after the English naturalist Gilbert White.

The genus name Zoothera comes from the Ancient Greek zoon, "animal" and theras, "hunter".

[2] It breeds in wet coniferous taiga, mainly in the eastern Palearctic in Siberia to Manchuria, Korea and Japan.

Northern races are strongly migratory, with most birds moving to southeastern Asia during the winter.

The sexes are similar, 27–31 cm long, with black scaling on a paler white or yellowish background.