This babbler lives in montane forest in western Sumatra. It forages on or near the ground in leaf litter for insects and small snails.
The upperparts are dark brown and scaled; below, the plumage is dull rusty with faint dark scales and pale streaks. The throat is whitish, and the sexes are similar. Juvenile plumage is undescribed in the account.
It mainly uses montane broadleaf evergreen forest; in conifer plantations it has also been recorded in dense roadside vegetation. It forages in or just above leaf litter for insects and small snails.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.