Sexes alike. Overall plumage grey; black head and neck; prominent white ear tufts; long black feathers of lower neck fall over breast; brownish- grey secondaries sickle-shaped and drooping over tail. Young birds have grey head and much shorter drooping secondaries over tail than adults. Huge flocks in winter, often many thousands; feeds early mornings and early evenings in cultivation; rests during hot hours on marsh edges and sandbanks; flies en masse when disturbed.