A chunky bird with a thick pale bill. Shows lots of geographical variation, ranging from mostly rich rufous birds in southern New Guinea to birds that are gray on the back and buffy below, often with a paler throat and/or vague streaking on the underparts, in the Australian portion of the range. Found at low elevations in a variety of moist forest, including secondary forest, gallery forest, swamp forest, and mangroves. Rich, melodious, variable song consists of several penetrating whistles. A classic pattern is several accelerating whistles, followed by a couple of upslurred notes. Calls include “chak” notes and whiny nasal notes. Similar to Gray Shrikethrush, but found in denser habitats, and appears smaller, shorter-tailed, and browner overall, with buffy underparts. Also similar to Rusty Pitohui, but smaller, with a dark rather than pale eye.