The Chestnut-backed Jewel-babbler has a chestnut back with blue eyebrows and underparts and forages on the forest floor in New Guinea's hills and mountains.
The crown, nape, and upper back are chestnut, and a blue eyebrow runs from the forehead behind the eye. The underparts are blue; in females, chestnut can extend toward the tail.
It is shy and is often heard before it is seen. In hill and lower montane forest it forages mainly on the ground, turning leaf litter with its bill to find insects and sometimes small amphibians.
The throat is white, bordered below by a black line that runs from the lores around the ear coverts.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.