The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) and the Clements taxonomy place them differently within the gnateater family.

The nominate male's crown is bright rufous with a bold black band below it.

The throat and crissum (the area around the cloaca) are buffy and the flanks a yellowish buff.

The nominate female is similar, but the crown is not as bright, the black band is smaller, and the face is more rufous.

[4] The rufous-crowned antpitta is found on the Pacific slope of Colombia and Ecuador.

The rufous-crowned antpitta inhabits humid forests in the lowlands and foothills of the Chocó biogeographic region up to 1,100 m (3,600 ft) elevation.

Two specimens in breeding condition have been documented in Colombia, a female in November and a male in February.