A chunky, short-tailed, colorful savanna starling. Adults have a mostly brown head, a dark green hood and upperparts, and a rufous belly. There is a pale buffy patch in the underwing that is conspicuous in flight. Immatures are duller, with completely pale, buffy underparts. Found in dry savanna and thorn scrub, usually in small flocks, sometimes with other species of starlings. The common call is a short descending trill with a vibrating quality.