This small hawk has a dark gray to black back and a partial white collar on the back of the neck. It uses moist forest and forest edges during the day.
Adults have a dark gray to black back with barring and a partial white collar on the back of the neck. Immatures are browner than adults.
It is active by day in moist subtropical or wet forest and forest edges, generally at 600–1,800 m. It is recorded as a small carnivorous hawk using dense habitats.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.