Almost tailless, it lacks the chestnut breast band and ear patches of red-capped crombec and differs from red-faces crombec in having a longer bill, thin grey eyestripe, brownish grey (not ashy grey) upperparts, and in lacking the russet tinge to the face.
Juvenile resembles adult
Woodland, savanna, fynbos and arid scrublands.
A repeated 'trree-rriitt, trree-rriit' and a harsher 'ptttt'.