A large bird of lowland swamp and secondary forest. Fairly long, curved bill, red eye and pink legs. Male has black head, upperparts and chest, bordered with a thin, green band. The rest of the underparts are bright yellow. Twelve wires stick out where the tail should be. Female is rufous-brown above and barred below. Male is unmistakable. Female has a similar size and shape to a female riflebird but has a black head. The male calls from its display pole at dawn, giving a mournful, rising-then-falling “aarroooo” reminiscent of Collared Forest-Falcon. If a female comes in, his impressive display includes erecting his breast shield.