[3] The mainly olive-green bare-faced bulbul is distinctive in having a bare pink face with blueish skin around the eyes.

The two specimens so far collected were around 20 cm in length and weighed 32-40 g. The breast and belly are fawn-grey, the uppersides olive and the throat is off-white.

The area is characterised by steep terrain with bare limestone and low (less than 4 m in height) deciduous trees and shrubs.

Limestone karst is the habitat of several newly discovered endemic species, including the unusual Laotian rock rat.

[4] The bare-faced bulbul was assessed for the first time in 2010 by BirdLife International as of Least Concern, on the basis that the species has a large range, and there is insufficient evidence on population trend and size.