[note 1] The specific epithet was chosen "in honor of Dr. Edward Osborne Wilson to recognize his tremendous devotion to conservation and his patronage of the Rainforest Trust".

Adult males have a warm sepia-brown crown and nape and brown upperparts with a small white patch between their scapulars.

Adult females are similar to males but with a white face and throat with black tips on the feathers, orange to amber-brown breast and sides, a dark gray center to the belly, and umber edges to the belly, flanks, and vent area.

[3][4] One female Cordillera Azul antbird specimen collected in July had enlarged ovaries.

The female's song "exhibits broader variation within and among individuals in pitch and number of notes (3–6) than males, and is delivered more slowly, often with a raspier quality".

"The major threat to the forests around the type locality is the extensive, large-scale clear-cutting for conversion into coffee plantations.

Until now however, the Cordillera Azul National Park protects large tracts of intact forest.