Adults are described with olive-brown upperparts, a rufous crown, and a white throat. Oiseaux.net distinguishes a western whistleri population from eastern populations.
Adults have a broad olive-brown breast band around the white throat and an ochre belly. The outer tail feathers have white tips, and the page says the sexes are alike.
The page says the western population favors dense oak, fir, and Himalayan cedar forest. Its species account also describes birds searching for food on the ground and among bark and moss.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.