[2] The barred antthrush has two subspecies, the nominate C. m. mollissima (Sclater, PL, 1855) and C. m. yungae (Carriker, 1935).

Their upperparts, wings, and tail are mostly chestnut to dark brown with a slightly more rufescent rump and uppertail coverts.

Subspecies C. m. yungae is darker than the nominate, with broken rather than uniform pale bars on their underparts that give a somewhat spotted look.

The nominate subspecies is found in Colombia's Cauca and Magdalena river valleys and on the east slope of the Andes from Nariño Department in Colombia's southwest south through eastern Ecuador into northern Peru to (or possibly just beyond) the Marañón River.

The species inhabits the floor of humid to wet primary montane forest and cloudforest with dense undergrowth and much moss and lichen on fallen trees.

[3] The barred antthrush's diet and foraging behavior are not known in detail, but one specimen's stomach held small seeds.