Size: L: 35 cm. Wt: 80-90g. Sexually dimorphic. This species is not seasonally dimorphic.

Male: crown and back black; large buffy wing patch; head, back of neck, and flanks light brown; throat streaked brown and white; breast white; legs pale greenish-brown.

Female: crown and back dark brown; streaking on throat darker, but still with much white.

Juvenile: no dark crown patch; back brown; throat heavily streaked.

Nestling: semialtricial and downy; down long, bufy on upperparts, white on underparts