Thrush-sized with a long tail, grey head and back, with black and white wings and tail, black mask and rosy-flushed breast. It has a large, powerful, hooked bill able to catch small birds, lizards and mice. It imitates many calls in order to attract prey which it sometimes subsequently hoards on thorny branches. It is present all year round. In the Middle Ages it was used in falconry for hawking in the large halls of castles and palaces.