[12] A striking bird, adult chestnut-sided shrike-vireos have bright green backs and largely white undersides punctuated by their eponymous chestnut flanks that meet in a chest band.

The head is characterized by a slate crown and nape, golden-yellow eyebrows that sometimes reach the lores at the bill base, black eyelines that are thin near the bill and thickest where they meet the gray nape, white cheeks, thin black malars, and a white throat.

A relatively difficult to observe species, vocalizations have proven to be one of the best ways to detect chestnut-sided shrike-vireos, with songs audible up to 400 metres (1,300 ft) away.

[12] Six primary vocalizations have been described by Barlow & James:[12] A humid pine-oak specialist, this species is restricted to montane habitats from central Mexico (Jalisco and San Luis Potosí) to southern Guatemala.

[12] Male chestnut-sided shrike-vireos sing the most during the nest-building phase of the breeding cycle in May, and show reduced vocal activity during the non-breeding season.

[12] Birds will respond to playback, and give a variety of contact, distress, and territorial calls depending on the situation (see Vocalizations above).

[12] Forages for arthropods (including caterpillars, wasps, grasshoppers, bugs, spiders, and beetles) primarily in the leaves and epiphytic vegetation in the inner foliage of trees.

[13] This conservations status of this species is presently considered Least Concern, with a stable population estimated between 20,000-50,000 birds and a global distribution less than 500,000 square kilometres (190,000 sq mi).