The sexes are identical in plumage — unusual among Swedish songbirds. - Breast and face: intense orange-red, bordered by a grey-blue margin against the throat and sides. - Upperparts: olive-brown back, wings and tail. - Underparts: white belly and vent. - Bill and legs: dark, thin.
Juvenile Juveniles lack the orange — brown with yellowish feather tips (mottled patterning). They change into adult plumage during the autumn moult.