Resembles Kalahari scrub-robin but differs in having a heavily streaked (not unmarked) breast, and white bars on the wing coverts. The breast streaking eliminates confusion with brown and bearded scrub-robins. The northwestern race [F2]avamboensis[/F2] lacks breast streaking, but its distribution does not overlap with either brown or bearded scrub-robins.
Juvenile is speckled with buff and brown above; it is whitish below, heavily scaled woth brown on the breast; the tail is brown with all except the central feathers broadly tipped with white as in adult.
Woodland and savanna.
A harsh 'trrrrrr' alarm note and a fluty but repetitive song; the characteristic call at dawn and dusk is a whistled 'seeep po go'.