The nominate form, spilogaster, occurs in the northern Guianas and Roraima in northern Brazil. BirdForum Opus describes habitats ranging from forest to thickets.
In the nominate form spilogaster, the male has white and broad red feather tips on the black crown. The upperparts are dull olive-brown with pale bars; the breast is buff-and-black barred, and the cream-white belly has black spots.
It is recorded in forest, gallery woodland, and deciduous forest, as well as open woodland and thickets. The account says it is usually seen alone or in pairs.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.