This tanager uses humid cloud forest and upper forest levels on the eastern Andes. It joins mixed flocks and searches for small animals and fruit.
The upperparts are turquoise to blue-green, with a golden patch on the nape. The belly and undertail are brownish. Regional forms vary in the size and tone of the golden patch.
It uses humid cloud forest edges and upper forest levels, sometimes joining mixed-species flocks. It searches the undersides of thin branches for arthropods and also eats fruit.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.