Their wings are grayish olive-brown with chestnut on the coverts and the base of the flight feathers.

Their tail is long and deeply forked with few barbs at the feather ends that give a ragged appearance.

[5][6] The Perija thistletail is found only in the Serranía del Perijá, a mountain range that straddles the border between northeastern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela.

It primarily inhabits páramo grasslands, the upper edge of cloudforest, and dense undergrowth at tree line.

The Perija thistletail's song is "some 3-5 drawn out high-pitched 'pee' notes followed by a short descending dry trill".

"Habitat below 2,000 m in the Sierra de Perijá is threatened by narcotics cultivation, uncontrolled colonisation, cattle-ranching and mineral exploitation". "