This waterbird walks on floating plants with its long legs and exceptionally long toes. Its red forehead comb and black, white, and olive-brown pattern are also distinctive.
It is mainly olive-brown above and white below, with a black cap and upper neck, a white face, and a dark band across the breast. It has a red fleshy forehead comb and bill, with long legs and toes.
It walks across floating vegetation with a characteristic bob and flick, feeding mainly on insects and other small animals. The male builds the nest, incubates the eggs, and tends the young. A threatened male may carry chicks under his wings.
In New South Wales it breeds mainly in spring and summer, with clutches recorded from September to April. Nests are platforms or shallow cups of plant material, though eggs are sometimes laid directly on a large leaf.
Young birds dive for safety, staying underwater with only their nostrils exposed. Adults also sometimes dive to escape danger.
The legs and feet are gray to olive-green and the eyes orange. In flight, the long legs and toes extend well beyond the tail tip.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.