Adults of the nominate subspecies have a narrow whitish supercilium and gray-brown lores on an otherwise buffy face with some streaking.

Juveniles have a pale yellowish forehead and throat, a sooty nape and upper belly, and a strong ochraceous wash on their underparts.

Compared to the nominate, subspecies C. a. albigula has a more ochraceous crown, a browner back, a more richly colored rump, and more reddish uppertail coverts.

[3] The creamy-crested spinetail feeds on arthropods; though details are lacking the species' mix of habitats suggests that its diet is highly varied.

It probes for and gleans its prey from bark, vegetation, lichens, and moss while hitching acrobatically along trunks and branches.

The species' nest is a globe of moss, twigs, and bark strips with an entrance at the bottom; it is usually hung from the end of a branch.

Its calls include "a rising tlee'lee", "a loud, semi-whistled dew", and a "rapid series of tleep notes".

Though it somewhat tolerates some habitat degradation, "[p]opulations of Creamy-crested Spinetail that inhabit Polylepis and semi-humid montane woodlands are under threat locally through large scale clearing of land by agriculture and firewood extraction".