Adult birds have glossy black plumage, with white strips on the wing and a bright red belly.

It is brownish-gray overall, with a paler belly and undertail coverts, and a pale cream or buff tinge to its wing patches.

Painted redstarts are common in open oak woodlands and canyons at heights between 1,500–2,500 m (4,900–8,200 ft) in Central America and Mexico, ranging as far north as the Madrean sky islands and Mogollon Rim in Arizona and New Mexico and Big Bend National Park in Texas; they are thought to be wholly insectivorous.

Their nests are large and shallow, constructed of strips of bark, plant fibers, leaves, and grass.

The female will lay 3 or 4 white to cream-colored eggs that are speckled with fine brown and reddish spots.