This scimitar babbler lacks a pale eyebrow and has brown cheeks; most subspecies show black breast spots or streaks. It uses open woodland, edges, scrub and bamboo.
It is 21–25 cm long, without a pale eyebrow and with brown cheeks. Most subspecies have conspicuous black breast spots or fine streaks. The iris is described as yellow to chestnut; details of the pattern vary among subspecies.
It inhabits open woodland, edges, scrub, secondary growth, abandoned land, and bamboo from foothills to high elevations. Records span 200–3,700 m; the source notes still higher seasonal records in Tibet. In China it is resident in scrub and forest edge.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.