This shrike-babbler ranges from the eastern Himalayas across Southeast Asia to the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. Male wing-panel colors vary by region.
The male has a black cap with a broad white eyebrow extending behind the eye, a gray mantle, and black wings and tail. Its wing panel ranges from chestnut to orange or yellow among subspecies. The female has a grayish cap and gray-olive upperparts.
It uses broadleaf and coniferous forest and forages slowly in the high canopy. It may occur alone, in pairs, or small groups, sometimes with mixed flocks, and eats insects as well as berries and seeds.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.