Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests at 1,150–2,750 metres above sea-level.

The black-throated robin was described by the Italian zoologist, Tommaso Salvadori, in 1875, from a specimen collected in the Arfak Mountains on the island of New Guinea.

[2] It was moved to the genus Poecilodryas by the English zoologist, Richard Bowdler Sharpe, in 1879.

[3] A 2011 molecular phylogenetic study found that the black-throated robin was the most divergent member of Poecilodryas.

[5][6] Measuring 18 to 19 cm (7.1 to 7.5 in), the black-throated robin has a grey-black face, throat and upper breast with a grey crown and nape, and a white diagonal mark on the neck.