[2] Its exact placement within genus Formicarius has not been determined but its closest relative appears to be the black-faced antthrush (F.

Adults have a bright orange rufous forehead ("front") that extends to their bill and their eye.

Their belly is a paler gray than their breast, their vent area and undertail coverts are rufous brown, and their flanks are brownish olive.

It inhabits the edges and interior of floodplain forest with a dense understory of bamboo or especially Heliconia.

[4] The rufous-fronted antthrush feeds primarily on a variety of arthropods, mostly insects but including centipedes and small snails.

It has not been observed foraging but is assumed to sweep or flick aside leaf litter likes other members of its genus.