This barwing lives in mossy forests of the eastern Himalayas. Its short tail and barred wings and tail are distinctive, while the color of the underparts varies among subspecies.
It has a short tail and black-and-buff bars across the wings and tail. Fine grey-brown streaks mark the throat and breast, and the crown feathers have pale tips. The underparts are rufous in subspecies waldeni but whitish grey in daflaensis.
A regional eastern Himalayan guide lists mossy evergreen and mixed forest as habitat. The recorded elevation changes by season, so the species should not be described as staying at one elevation year-round.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
During 52 weekly morning surveys at the Tuensang market in Nagaland from May 2009 to April 2010, researchers recorded 40 Streak-throated Barwings (Actinodura waldeni).