Adult Grey plumage with very contrasted black and white zones. Black cap and ornamental occipital plumes of the same color, pure white neck with small black streaks, black shoulders and belly, grey upperparts, dark legs, yellow iris and generally orange bill. Very similar species to A. cinerea, that occurs in the Palearctic, Afrotropical and Oriental regions, but in this one the black cap is limited to two broad superciliary lines well separated by a white crown stripe, and it has orangish legs.
