This small ovenbird ranges from Central into South America and Trinidad. It searches for insects in grassland and scrub and has rufous on the crown and shoulders.
It is about 13–16 cm long, with rufous on the crown and shoulders, a grey-brown face, pale brown upperparts, darker wings and tail, whitish throat and underparts, and browner flanks. The sexes look similar.
It lives in pasture and second-growth scrub and feeds on insects. Argentina's national biodiversity information system lists records from several provinces and protected areas there.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.