A large dark weaver with a massive bill. The male is brown with a dark bill and a white dash on the forehead and wing. The female has a pale bill and is heavily streaked underneath. Pairs are resident, breeding in wetlands and rank areas adjacent to well wooded groves and forest; flocks form in the non-breeding season. The species feeds on fruit and insects in the canopy and on the forest floor. The song is a rapid high-pitched warble that includes multiple sputtering trills, for example “pit-pit-pit-pit chweeer-kuuuurrrr”.