Like other members of the large Old World babbler family they are passerine birds characterised by soft fluffy plumage.

The nominate hyperythra found in northern and eastern India is uniformly brown underneath while albogularis of the western Indian peninsula is white throated.

The population in Sri Lanka, phillipsi, is also white throated but is paler underneath and has a larger bill.

[8][14] The tawny-bellied babbler builds its nest in a low bush, concealed in dense masses of foliage.

They produce cheeping, twittering or harsh chattering notes while foraging in bushes.

[18][8] Banded bay cuckoos have been known to lay their eggs in the nests of tawny-bellied babblers.

[19] Unidentified haematozoa placed in the genus Leucocytozoon have been recorded from the blood of the species.