This warbler has dark brown upperparts, a white throat, and spotted breast markings. It breeds in high areas from the eastern and central Himalayas to central China; one winter record is reported from northern Thailand.
The individual recorded in northern Thailand in 2013 had dark brown upperparts, a white throat and central belly, and a grey-washed breast with indistinct black spots.
The paper gives a breeding range from the eastern and central Himalayas to central China at 2,200–3,700 m. It reports one winter record from northern Thailand.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.