14–15 cm; 14–18 g. Male  has head striped black and white, including prominent white median crownstripe  (white stripes may be washed brown in fresh plumage); hindneck grey, mantle feathers chestnut with pale grey margins, appearing strongly streaked, scapulars with broad blackish centres then chestnut with narrow pale grey margins on outer webs, whitish-buff on inner webs; lower back and rump  grey, back with diffuse blackish spots; tail blackish-brown, white tips on outer feathers; lesser upperwing-coverts grey, white median coverts and tips of greater coverts (forming two white bars  on folded wing), remainder of greater coverts and flight-feathers blackish-brown with paler outer margins; throat, breast  and central belly yellow, washed orange on central breast; flanks, lower belly and vent whitish; iris brown; upper mandible mostly dusky, with pink cutting edge, lower mandible pink; legs pale grey-brown. Differs from similar E. flaviventris in having strongly streaked mantle, scapulars largely blackish (not chestnut) contrasting with mantle, face whiter (no black in front of or above eye, and lateral crownstripes barely reach bill), slightly less white in tail, underparts paler. Female  is duller than male, with brown wash on head. Juvenile is similar to female.