This antwren lives in humid forests from Central America into northern South America. Males are black with white wing markings; females have a slate-gray back and rufous underparts.
Males are black with a broad white wing band and white spots on the wings. Females have slate upperparts and rufous underparts.
It forages for insects and other arthropods in the middle story of humid evergreen forest and along forest edges.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.