This small bird inhabits moist montane forest in Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia. It searches leaf litter on the ground or from low perches for invertebrates.
The upperparts are brownish olive, with a short cream eyebrow; the chin and breast are orange-buff, and the mid-belly is white. In Tanzania's usambarae subspecies the eyebrow is weaker and greyer and the underparts are more orange.
It inhabits moist montane forest at about 600–2,600 m, often in dense undergrowth near running water. It forages on the ground, turning leaf litter for invertebrates, and may attend driver-ant swarms.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.