It forages in high-elevation mosaics of damp scrub and grassland. Regional accounts document local Andean records in Peru and Argentina.
At about 17.5 cm, it has streaked brown plumage, a rufous forehead, and a pale throat and central belly. Fine dark marks give the rufous tail a scribbled look.
It forages among damp scrub and grass. Regional records include 3,000–3,950 m in southeastern Peru and high-altitude steppe in Tucumán and Catamarca, Argentina.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.