The mature male is jet black with red shoulders. They are unmistakable. Females are dark brown and densely streaked. They are best shown off by their sharp and tapered beaks. Younger males look like females, but are darker, with some red-orange on their shoulders.
Breeding grounds are marshes, wet thickets , ponds , and prairies.
The Brown Trasher has a long brown tail, and the top of the head is brown. Its wings are brown with white streaks. The lower part of its body is white with black streaks. They are common in thickets, overgrown fields, woodland edges, and gardens. They have mimic calls that are song fragments that they copy from other birds.