A gregarious brown babbler with a striking yellow-orange eye that is rimmed with red in the southern part of its range. It has a multitude of tiny white chevrons on the head and breast that are diagnostic. Groups occupy woodland and savanna, foraging for insects, spiders, and small vertebrates on the ground or in low shrubs and trees. This is the main host species for the nest parasite Levaillant’s Cuckoo. A dry gurgling babble “gra-gra-gra-gra-gra” is given by multiple birds, keeping the group together.