A 24–26 cm laughingthrush of Himalayan forests and bamboo. Its brown body has a chestnut forehead and nape and green-gold wing and tail panels; head color varies among subspecies.
About 24–26 cm long. The plumage is brown, with brilliant green-gold panels on the wings and sides of the tail, black spots on the upper mantle and scale-like breast markings, a chestnut forehead and nape, and dark lores and throat. Subspecies nigrimentum has a slate-grey crown and cheek.
It uses the understorey and bamboo in broadleaf evergreen forest, as well as mixed forest, secondary growth, and rhododendron scrub at about 1,000–3,500 m. Pairs and small groups forage on or near the ground for insects, berries, seeds, and other plant matter.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.