Its back has black-edged scales, its crown is black, and its eyes are yellow. In Andean montane forest it forages at several heights.
The male has a green back scaled with black, a black crown, yellowish-buff throat, and a black malar stripe. Its greenish-yellow underparts are heavily scaled with dusky markings, and the iris is yellow. The female has fewer mantle scales and a green crown.
It forages at different heights in the forest.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.