The Mottle-cheeked Tyrannulet has a long tail and two pale wingbars. It searches for prey in middle and upper forest layers, changing its foraging behavior with forest structure.
It has a long tail, a whitish line above the eye and an eye-ring. Its upperparts are olive, it has two pale wingbars, and the underside is pale yellow.
It forages in middle and upper forest layers or low in secondary vegetation. It makes short flights to capture prey, and a southern Brazil study found that foraging height and maneuvers changed with forest structure.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.