The Scaly Laughingthrush occurs in eastern Himalayan mountain forest and scrub, and may move to lower elevations in winter. A museum specimen is also recorded from Mount Fansipan in northern Vietnam.
It is olive-brown with dark-edged scale-like markings. The head is grey-washed, the wing panel greenish-gold, and the tail has white tips.
It searches the ground for small invertebrates in mountain forest and open scrub, and may descend to lower elevations in winter.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.