This antpitta lives in humid Andean forest. In the account of its northeastern Peruvian form, it is also associated with bamboo thickets.
In the account of subspecies nuchalis, the back and chest range from olive to rufous, the crown and nape are chestnut, the throat is dusky, and the underparts are greyish.
It inhabits humid montane forest; the Peru Aves account also associates the northeastern Peruvian form with bamboo thickets.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.