This small Andean bird occurs in forest and scrub. The central Peru-to-Bolivia population has been proposed as a separate species.
The eBird account describes a brown back, gray underparts, and an eyebrow that is mostly white but yellow in front of the eye. It notes cinnamon wingbars in the central Peru-to-Bolivia population, which may be treated as a separate species.
The account places it in the lower to middle levels of high-Andean forest and scrub at 2,600–3,800 m.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.