Large brownish honeyeater with bare black facial skin and a long, pointed, black bill topped by a small rounded "horn". Uniformly gray-brown with upperparts a darker shade than the underparts. Care should be taken to distinguish it from Silver-crowned Friarbird (which has an angular edge to the upper rear portion of the black facial skin, as well as a slightly larger "horn" on the bill). Also similar is the Noisy Friarbird (which has a completely bare head). Found along the tropical Queensland and Northern Territory coasts—where it can be common in a variety of habitats including parks, gardens, mangroves, and forests. The "Sandstone" subspecies in Arnhem Land is quite different in habitat; it occurs in inland sandstone areas. Typically very loud, with has a variety of harsh, loud squawks, including the "poor devil" call.