It occurs in tall dense scrub in dry river valleys, the borders of mixed broadleaved and coniferous forest, and grassy hill slopes, from 3,000 to 5,000 m (and rarely down to 2,400 m in inclement weather). In the breeding season, adult males and females form monogamous pair bonds, and each pair produces one brood per year (Xin Lu 2007). Egg-laying takes place from mid-April to early June, and only females incubate the eggs (Xin Lu 2007). 

Currently considered endemic to China, where all records from Tibet, although may marginally extend to southernmost Qinghai, near which hybrids with C. crossoptilon have been reported. Claimed record from Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, India, often accepted (e.g. in BirdLife International 2001) but no specimens traced (Rasmussen and Anderton 2012) and recent survey effort from this region (eBird 2024) have not detected it, and until confirmed its presence in India must be treated as wholly hypothetical.

Conservation Actions Underway
CITES Appendix I. Recent records from several protected areas. This bird is traditionally protected under the umbrella of Buddhist culture.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Continue to monitor populations (either directly, or indirectly using habitat trends).