This sparrow occurs in the understory of humid Andean forests and tall scrub. Its black head and broad white eyebrow stand out, and mantle color varies between subspecies.
The head is black with a broad white supercilium, and a black band crosses the chest. The throat and centre of the underparts are white with grey sides. The mantle is grey in A. a. abeillei and olive in A. a. nigriceps.
The account records it in humid-forest understory, semi-deciduous forest, and tall scrub, including slopes on both sides of the Andes and the Marañón drainage in Peru.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.