Adult Characteristics:
The forehead, crown, and crest are black, tinged with gray. The chin and throat are pale brown, with a central black stripe. The sides of the head and neck, back, shoulders, and wing coverts are rufous. The wing coverts, and sometimes the flight feathers, are speckled with black. These spots are more prominent in older individuals. The wing edges and shoulders display rufous, black, and white streaks. The wings are small, with primary feathers and greater wing coverts being black with white tips. The primary feathers are pale grayish-black with brown tips. The lower back, flanks, and upper tail coverts vary in color from rufous to brown: the tail is black, with pale rufous or brownish-black tips. The neck and breast are rufous, with alternating black and white stripes in the center. The remaining underside is mahogany brown, mixed with pale black and white. The thighs are rufous, tinged with black.
Juvenile Characteristics:
The upperparts are dark brown. The head is nearly black, with white streaks on the nape and crest. The wings and shoulders have numerous pale rufous-brown streaks. The remaining upperparts have many white spots. The chin and throat are white, with a dark brown central stripe. The belly is white mixed with pale rufous, with each feather having dark brown streaks and stripes.
General Characteristics:
- Eyes: Orange-yellow.
- Bill: Pale yellow, with a horn-brown ridge and tip.
- Skin around the Eyes: Pale grayish-green, with rufous mixed in during the breeding season.
- Legs: Dark green, mixed with pale brown on the front.
Measurements:
- Wings: 255 – 281 mm
- Tail: 96 – 112 mm
- Tarsus (Leg): 67 – 79 mm
- Bill: 43 – 49 mm
Distribution:
This species is distributed in eastern India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, South China, and Vietnam. In Vietnam, they are found throughout various forest regions at different altitudes.