Males have the typical batis pattern of black, white, and gray. Females have a more unusual pattern, with rufous in the wing, rufous on the throat, and a variable amount of rufous on the breast. Both sexes have orange or reddish eyes. Found at middle levels and in the canopy of forest at low and middle elevations, often in pairs. Very similar to Short-tailed Batis, but there is no known overlap in range. Males are similar to Chinspot and Pale Batises, but are distinguished by the darker eye and shorter tail. Females are distinctive. The song is variable, but is usually a long, slow series of identical low-pitched tooting notes, sometimes given along with raspy “chugaree” calls.