A ground-dwelling thrush of montane moist forest on New Britain and Umboi in the Bismarck Archipelago.
The head and back are greyish slate, with black feather edges forming crescent-shaped markings. The cheeks have extensive white flecking.
It lives on the ground in moist montane forest.
On 16 July 2024 at 1,040 m in the eastern Whiteman Range of New Britain, one bird took two hops on the ground, then made a shallow, rapid downward bob of its body.
The wing-coverts have white crescent-shaped patches.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.