This small antwren ranges from eastern Venezuela through the Guianas to northeastern Amazonian Brazil. It is associated with humid lowland forest and riparian forest.
Males have a black crown and nape, a broad white eyebrow, a grey back, black wings with white spots, and a black tail with white tips and spots. Females have a rufous crown and nape with buff underparts.
It is recorded in humid forest understory, scrub or savanna, and riparian forest in lowland areas. A compiled ecology account classifies its food as invertebrates gleaned from vegetation.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.