The large head, long tail, and hooked bill make this babbler resemble a shrike that had its head dipped into white paint. Only the adult has the full white head; younger birds have an orange crown and a white throat. Forages in lowland and foothill forests, usually in dense stands of bamboo. Travels in large, loud flocks, often with Rufous-headed Parrotbills and scimitar-babblers.