This tanager lives in mountain forests of northern Venezuela. It is marked by a rufous cheek patch against a blue-green body and blue rump.
A rufous patch covers the sides of the face; the body is bluish green and the rump is blue. The sexes are similar in color, while young birds are duller than adults.
It is recorded in humid montane forest and secondary growth at 900–2,050 m. It has also been recorded in Venezuelan protected forests and in regenerating vegetation on landslides.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.