This warbler lives in Costa Rica's highland forests. It stays in pairs and may forage in mixed-species flocks.
Adults have a bright yellow face, throat and belly, with a dark breast band. The front of the crown is black, and the black tail has white outer feathers.
It uses mossy montane forests and scrubby ravines. Pairs stay together year-round; birds also join mixed flocks and sometimes pursue prey flushed by other birds.
In Costa Rica it builds a roofed nest with a round side entrance, using dry bamboo leaves, fine plant fibres or tree-fern scales. Nests occupy niches in banks, grassy slopes or sites beneath fallen logs.
In Costa Rica it breeds from March to May and lays two white eggs flecked with pale brown.
Juveniles have a dull slate-coloured head, throat and breast, with a dull yellow belly. They lack the yellow face and rufous crown.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.