This sparrow-like bird occurs in the western Andes of Colombia and north-western Ecuador. In wet cloud-forest undergrowth, pairs or family groups search slowly among leaf litter and mossy logs.
The body is generally brown with a paler belly. Its black head has two white lines: one above the eye and another along the crown, extending to the base of the nape.
In wet cloud-forest undergrowth, single birds and often close pairs or family groups search slowly on or near the ground. Records describe them peering and pecking at leaves, stems, and fruit among leaf litter, mossy logs, and dense undergrowth.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.