The Masked Woodswallow is a slim-bodied woodswallow with a distinctive black face mask. The sexes differ noticeably in adult and immature plumages but are alike as juveniles.
The adult male Masked Woodswallow is silvery-grey on it's upper parts with a black face mask, bordered by a prominent white line curving up behind it's ear-coverts from the sides of it's breast. It is pale grey below, with contrasting whitish underwing and a prominent narrow white tip to the tail.
The adult female is patterned like the male but slightly duller and browner above, and duller grey-brown below. It has a more subdued dark-grey mask bordered by light grey-brown. Juveniles are similar to females but streaked and spotted whitish.