[3] It has two subspecies, the nominate C. p. pabsti (Sick, 1969) and C. p. espinhacensis (Freitas, Chaves, Costa, Santos, FR & Rodrigues, 2012).

[4][5] The long-tailed cinclodes' specific epithet commemorates the Brazilian botanist Guido Frederico João Pabst.

It inhabits campos rupestres, a montane savanna landscape with a patchwork of rock outcrops and open fields.

The song of the long-tailed cinclodes' nominate subspecies is a "very high, short, sharp, crescendoing rattle/trill" that is sung from a perch or in flight.

It "has a small range within which habitat is becoming increasingly degraded, in particular owing to the development of pine plantations."

[1] The nominate subspecies is considered uncommon to fairly common; it occurs in one protected area.

C. p. espinhacensis is known only from a small number of sites in Serra do Espinhaço, with a maximum extent of about 490 km2 (190 sq mi) and probably less.

The habitat is threatened by numerous human activities including tourism, mining, and conversion for pasture and agriculture.