This spinetail occurs in eastern Brazil. Its gray head and upperparts contrast with conspicuous rufous wings and tail.
It is about 16 cm long. The head and upperparts are gray, the underside paler, and the forehead and eyebrow whitish. The bill is pinkish; the back, wings, and tail are bright rufous.
It moves from low to middle levels at semideciduous forest and moist woodland edges and where cerrado woodland meets regrowth. It is seen in pairs and joins mixed-species flocks while searching leaves and branches for small prey.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.