This antbird lives in lowland forest of southeastern Peru, chiefly in Guadua bamboo stands. Males are dark gray and females rufous, and both have a prominent crest.
It is about 14.5 cm long. The male is dark gray with a prominent bushy crest, black wing coverts with white bars, and an unmarked black tail. The female has rufous upperparts and crest, with dingy white sides of the head and underparts. Both sexes have a dark iris.
It forages almost exclusively in stands of Guadua bamboo, and also in dense thickets along rivers and lake edges.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.