[3][4] The two are still each other's closest living relatives, and their relationships to other typical warblers are not clear; they may be fairly close to the common whitethroat.

It is a small bird, marginally the smallest in the genus, 11–12 cm long, and 7–10 g weight.

The sexes are almost identical in colour, pale sandy yellow-brown above and whitish below; the bill and legs are yellowish, and the eye has a yellow iris; it differs from the Asian desert warbler in its more yellowish overall colour.

Like its relatives, it is insectivorous, but will also take small berries; unlike most warblers, it commonly feeds on the ground.

It breeds in desert and semi-desert environments, as long as some scattered bushes for nesting occur.