This yellow tanager has a silvery-white throat. In Costa Rica, it uses humid mountain forest and forest edges.
It is about 13 cm long and weighs about 21 g. The adult male has glossy yellow upperparts with black streaks on the back, a whitish-green throat, and black wings and tail with narrow pale-green edges. Females are duller; juveniles are greener.
It uses the middle and upper levels of humid forest, edges, secondary growth, and shaded openings. Birds travel in pairs or small groups and often join mixed flocks.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.