Rather chunky, big-headed bird with a bushy crest. Male varies from pale gray (in drier areas) to dark slaty gray (in rainforest); pink throat patch absent in darkest rainforest birds. Female also variable, but always has bushy blackish cap. Young male looks like female with variable pink on throat. Widespread in tropical and subtropical areas in Middle America, also locally in the highlands. Favors woodland and forest edge, but also found in brushy fields, hedgerows, and most habitats with a scattering of larger trees; often at fruiting trees. Feeds rather sluggishly, often craning its head back and forth deliberately.