This species is found in high-altitude regions of the Western Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau, where it overlaps in part with the larger Himalayan snowcock.

[11][12] Tibetan snowcock are found on alpine pastures stony ridges above the tree line in the Pamirs of Tajikistan, Himalayas (from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh), Tibet, Pakistan and China.

[6] Since the Tibetan snowcock has a large distribution range and no visible declines in population, it has been considered a species of "least concern" by the IUCN.

Though they do not keep sentries during feeding, while resting in the middle of the day, one or more of adult birds mount high boulders and keep a watch, warning the flocks on the approach of danger with loud prolonged whistles.

The nest is a scrape, sparsely lined and sheltered under a stone or bush usually on the leeward side of a bare hill, and avoiding ground with vegetation.

Both parent birds accompany the brood and adults perform distraction displays when the young are threatened, while the chicks crouch or hide between stones.