This ovenbird is restricted to Colombia's Santa Marta mountains. It searches among branches in montane forest understory and scrub.
It is about 18 cm long, with a vivid rusty head and a mainly brown body.
It uses montane forest understory and edges, as well as altered scrub. It feeds while moving through shrubs and small branches about 0.5–7 m above ground; pairs or family groups may join mixed-species flocks.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.