This tapaculo lives in cloud forest in Colombia's western Andes. The original description covers male plumage, and an observation recorded two birds searching for arthropods while walking through leaf litter.
The male is black above, with a dark-brown tinge on the rump and diffuse dark rufous bars on the flanks and lower belly.
It occurs in dense understory on ravine floors and lower slopes in cloud forest. Two nearby birds were observed walking over leaf litter and gleaning arthropods.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.