[2] The bar-throated minla occupies a range of montane forest habitats from 1,800–3,750 m (5,910–12,300 ft).

The species is mainly resident but may move to lower altitudes during harsh winters, coming as low as 1,300 m (4,300 ft).

[2] The diet of the bar-throated minla varies by season; during the summer months it is almost exclusively insectivorous, taking beetles, caterpillars and other insects.

It will join flocks of other babblers and yuhinas in the non-breeding season, and feeds from the canopy down to near the forest floor.

Two to four eggs are laid in a cup of grass, bamboo leaves, lichen and birch bark.