This parrotbill ranges from northeast India east of Sikkim to Bhutan and adjacent Tibet. It uses bamboo near broadleaf evergreen forest and may be seen in small groups.
At about 19-19.5 cm, it has a rounded, bright rufous head and dark bluish skin around the eye. The upperparts are olive-brown, the wings rufescent, and the underparts white.
It lives in bamboo within or beside broadleaf evergreen forest and at forest edges. It feeds on insects and seeds, also taking berries, and is usually seen in pairs or groups of four to six, sometimes in mixed bird waves.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.