This small flycatcher ranges from tropical Mexico through Central America and northern South America to central Bolivia. The account describes it as often still in the lower levels of humid forest.
It is about 8.5–9 cm long, with a rufous tail and rump, cinnamon underparts, pale legs, and a large eye.
It is usually solitary in the understory and lower mid-levels, where it may perch upright and motionless for long periods. It sallies to vegetation or into the air for arthropods and often flicks its wings over its back.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.