It occurs in northern Andean mountain forest, from south-western Venezuela through Colombia and Ecuador to far northern Peru. It is recorded at 2,300–3,200 m.
It is about 18 cm long. The head is sooty blackish, with a long buffy-whitish brow. Its upperparts are olive, the underparts olive-yellow, and the throat more ochraceous.
On 16 December 2009, one nest was observed at 2,500 m on Guacamayos Ridge in Napo, north-eastern Ecuador. It stood about 2 m above ground in the Chusquea-dominated understory of broken-canopy primary ridge forest, supported by bamboo stems. It contained two pale blue eggs marked with lavender and cinnamon flecks.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.