In contrast to the powerful, muscular appearance of most birds of prey, the African baza, is a relatively small, plump-bodied raptor. The head, neck and upper chest are mainly grey, with a small, blackish crest at the back of the head and a thin chestnut patch on the nape of the neck. The remaining upperparts are mainly blackish-brown, with short, black tail feathers, marked with three grey bands and ending with grey-white tips. The most striking features of this species are its brightly-coloured eyes, yellow in the female and orange-red in the male, as well as its white underparts, which are distinctively patterned with a series of dusky bars. There are three subspecies of African baza, which inhabit different locations and habitats, and can be distinguished by the colouration and markings of the plumage. Aviceda cuculoides batesi has the darkest upperparts and heavily barred underparts, Aviceda cuculoides cuculoides has solid chestnut wing linings, while Aviceda cuculoides verreauxi has distinctive white barred wing linings. The juvenile is mainly brown above, with a white streak running above the eye, and white below, with an irregular patterning of dark blotches on the flanks and breast.