This antshrike lives in the understory of humid montane forest along the eastern Andes from Colombia to Peru. It is recorded infrequently.
It is about 16 cm long. The male is mostly uniform gray; the female is rufous with gray sides to the head. The iris is pale gray.
It forages in dense understory of humid montane forest. PeruAves describes it as uncommon at about 1,250–2,300 m in the eastern Andes.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.