This tyrant flycatcher uses open savanna and semi-open areas with scattered trees and shrubs. It has a tall crest; in Peru it is known from localized sites in Cusco and Madre de Dios.
It is about 13 cm long, with grey upperparts and a tall, well-developed crest rising from the forehead. It lacks a white crown patch, has two pale wing bars, and its grey throat and chest become yellowish below.
It forages in semi-open areas with scattered trees and shrubs. In Peru, records are localized to the middle xeric Urubamba Valley in Cusco and the savanna of Pampas del Heath in southeastern Madre de Dios.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.