An identification guide describes this warbler among rocks and boulders near the upper rhododendron zone, with streamside vegetation used in winter.
In the nominate form described by the guide, the upperparts are dark sooty brown with a slight olive tinge, and the supercilium and underparts are dusky yellow.
It inhabits open rocks and boulders near and above the rhododendron zone. In winter it uses low streamside vegetation and flicks its tail frequently.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.