This barwing is documented in high-elevation forest around Mount Ngoc Linh in central Vietnam. The account here is limited to the documented locality.
It is about 24 cm long, with gray-brown plumage, a white eye-ring, and a short black crown. The back and rump are ochre, and the wings and tail have fine dark and rufous barring.
Around Ngoc Linh, records come from evergreen and secondary forest and their edges at about 1,200–2,500 m. This habitat description is limited to the regional account.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.