This small antwren lives in humid montane forest on the eastern Andean slope. Males have a black cap and broad white eyebrow, and the species is reported at 900–2,100 m.
It is about 12 cm long. The male has a black cap bordered by a broad white eyebrow, a gray back, and two white bars on black wings. The underparts are grayish white with a yellowish tinge, and the tail feathers end in large white spots. The female has white streaks on the crown.
It forages in the canopy and subcanopy of humid montane forest and often joins mixed-species flocks.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.