It is found in the Amazon (specifically in várzea forest) in south-eastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, and north-eastern Peru.

First recognized as a species due to its distinct voice, it was only described in 1997; the binomial commemorates the American ornithologist Melvin Alvah Traylor Jr.[3] The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the conservation status of this species as being of "least concern".

The iris is orange, and this and the buff throat is distinctive and helps distinguish this bird from other species in the genus.

The song is a series of five to seven notes "zhreee", more extended and more rasping than the yellow-breasted flatbill (Tolmomyias flaviventris).

[4] The orange-eyed flatbill is found in northwestern Amazonia, its range extending from southeastern Colombia, through eastern Ecuador to northeastern Peru.