The Pied Butcherbird is distributed throughout most of mainland Australia except the drier deserts and the coast from Sydney through southern Victoria and South Australia to Western Australia where it is also absent from the forested south-west.

It has a white body with a black hood, throat and upper breast, black back and wings with a black tail with white corners. The bill is blue-grey with a black tip. The immature (photo 3) is brown and cream in colour.