[11] The banded antbird was described by the Austrian ornithologist August von Pelzeln in 1868 and given the scientific name Cyphorhinus (Microcerculus) cinctus.

The International Ornithological Committee assigns it three subspecies, the nominate D. c. cincta (Pelzeln, 1868), D. c. stellata (Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1880), and D. c. zononota (Ridgway, 1888).

Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a thin white supercilium and a blackish line through the eye on an otherwise grayish face.

Their wings are black with cinnamon to chestnut edges on the flight feathers and buff to white tips on the coverts.

The other two subspecies differ somewhat from the nominate and each other in the depth of their back color, the amount of gray on their flanks, and the extent of spotting on the breast.

[15][16][17][18] The nominate subspecies of the banded antbird is found from east of the Andes in south-central and southeastern Colombia through extreme southwestern Venezuela into the upper Rio Negro watershed in northwestern Brazil.

[10][15] The species inhabits evergreen forest, primarily terra firme away from waterways, and favors areas with an open understorey and much leaf litter.

The banded antbird's song is a "slow, gradually rising series of about 15-20 drawn-out, loud, very sharp 'tueét' notes".