Main features: Small (12cm); upperparts olive, underparts creamy buff; bill long; thighs rufous; legs long; tail long.Male: Centre of crown rufous; sides of head and underparts white; black patches on neck.Female: Rufous restricted to the forehead. Call: Described as a monotonous loud chwee-o; chi-up; chee-rup repeated quickly. Also a rapid descending trill of 5 notes.In flight: Darting low flight in the understorey thickets.

Similar birds: Ashy Tailorbird (O. ruficeps): The Ashy has a red face while the Common only has a red crown; the Ashy is grey elsewhere while the Common is olive on the upperparts and pale below; the Common has a long tail which the Ashy lacks. Both of them have red thighs.