True to its name, this sprightly bird has a warm, brown cap, bordered by a narrow, black eye line. In winter and spring, the cap is mottled brown and gray. The cheek and chin are white, and the underparts are buff. The back is blue gray, and at the nape of the neck a pale spot is visible at close range. Males and females look alike.
Juveniles resemble the adults except juveniles have less contrast between the upper- and underparts.
The cap is grayish and the back and flanks are brownish. The spot at the nape is less conspicuous or absent, and the upper-wing coverts and secondaries have buff edges. It breeds as far north as southern Delaware, as far west as eastern Texas, and as far south as the Gulf of Mexico, but it is absent from the coastal and peninsular region of Florida. It is relatively common throughout most of its range. They are rarely found at higher elevations.