Small, long-tailed, white tipped outter tail feathers, bright white spots on wing-coverts, crimson orbital skin.

Adult male: The head, neck, and breast are light blue-grey. The bill is dark grey. The iris is orange with bright red orbital skin, which intensifies in breeding season. The abdomen is creamy-white. The upper and back, as well as the tail and central feathers are brown-grey. The next outer pair of tail feathers is tipped with whiteand the other whole distal half is white. The wing feathers and scapulars are brown-grey, spotted with small irregular white spots with black edges. The primaries, leading edge, and tip are brown-grey; the remainder is chestnut. The secondaries are blue-grey. On the under-side of the wing, the chestnut primaries have brown-grey tips. The legs and feet are pink.

Adult female: The female is similar to the male but has more brown suffusion on all grey parts. Also, the orbital skin is less bright.

Juvenile: The juvenile differs from the adult in the following ways. The bill is light grey. The iris is fawn, with fawn orbital skin. The crown, scapulars, and wing coverts are brown, each feather with a black, then grey tip, giving it a striped effect. The back and upper-tail coverts are grey-brown with pale grey tips. The breast is grey, each feather having a brown tip. Very few, if any, white spots are on the wing and then only on the inner coverts. The legs and feet are light grey.

Central, West and Northern Australia; Lightly wooded arid or semi-arid grassland where there is water.

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