This ground-dwelling antpitta inhabits wet, mossy montane forest in southern Ecuador. It has a white cheek patch and black crown, and known records are from a limited mountain area.
It has a black crown and a white cheek patch extending from the bill base across the cheek. The back is olive-brown, and the underparts are grey and white.
It is recorded in wet, mossy montane forest with Chusquea bamboo at about 2,200–2,700 m. The stomach of the original specimen held a few insect remains, a single-specimen record rather than a full diet study.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.