It inhabits dense undergrowth in broadleaved primary and secondary evergreen forest, and sometimes adjacent scrub, bamboo, grassland and cultivation, most frequently below 750 m in India, but usually at 610-1,220 m in neighbouring South-East Asia.

Arborophila atrogularis is resident in north-eastern India (locally common in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura) (Birand and Pawar 2004), Bangladesh (very local in the north-east and the Chittagong Hill Tracts [eBird 2023]), Myanmar (widespread, uncommon to common resident in the north) and China (local in westernmost Yunnan) (BirdLife International 2001). Although not formally known from Bhutan (Spierenburg 2005), it is here mapped as occurring there very narrowly, given some suitable habitat in the Himalayan foothills, and its occurrence in immediately adjacent India.

Conservation Actions Underway
None specific to this species is known, although it occurs in a large number of protected areas throughout its range (Savini et al. 2021), within which it is evidently quite common (eBird 2023).

Conservation Actions Proposed
Continue to protect areas of suitable habitat. Where hunting is identified as an issue, implement strategies to engage local communities to minimise this pressure.