This ovenbird inhabits montane forest in Central America. It moves through the lower and middle forest, and its orange throat and streaked breast help identify it.
It is warm brown overall, with a relatively bright orange throat and streaking on the breast. The bill is dark, and the plain head lacks an eyebrow.
In montane forest at 900–2,500 m, it moves at low to middle levels alone or in pairs and sometimes joins mixed-species flocks.
Reported nests are in self-excavated burrows and use rootlets. Costa Rican records describe a rootlet platform at the end of a burrow in a bank.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.