This babbler has rich brown upperparts and rufous underparts. In forests and thickets of the Western Ghats, groups forage on the ground.
The upperparts are rich brown and the underparts rufous. The bill is black and yellow, the lores are dark, and the forecrown is grey. Rufous intensity varies by subspecies.
It eats insects, berries, and nectar. Groups of about 6–8 forage on the ground and move through dense cover.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.