This thistletail is known from the Cordillera Vilcabamba in southern Peru. It inhabits elfin forest and high-altitude grassland, foraging in the understorey.
It has a faint supercilium behind the eye, a brownish face, dark-brown lores, and whitish underparts.
It uses elfin forest and high-altitude grassland and is seen in the understorey alone or in pairs. The account suggests that it probably gleans arthropods from leaves and branches, but says little is known about its behavior.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.