Males are black and white while females are brownish; the species lives in wet habitats and lowland forest in central and eastern Africa and eats insects.
The male has glossy black upperparts, white underparts and rump, a black breast band, and grey bare skin around the eye. The female is dull brownish-black with a grey head, white belly and chin, and chestnut chest and sides of the head.
It uses swamps, damp savanna, and moist lowland forest up to about 1,800 m. It eats insects, and the page describes a small cup-shaped nest.
The male has dark brown irises.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.