[3] Based on a large molecular phylogenetic study of the suboscines published in 2020 it was moved by worldwide taxonomic systems to genus Cranioleuca.

Their iris is chestnut or reddish brown, their bill pale blue-gray with a gray base to the maxilla, and their legs and feet yellow-olive.

It forages in pairs or in small groups thought to be families, usually as part of a mixed-species feeding flock.

It has a restricted range and a population size estimated at between 1000 and 2500 mature individuals that is believed to be decreasing.

"Regular burning of páramo grassland adjacent to elfin forest, to promote the growth of fresh shoots for livestock, has lowered the treeline by several hundred metres, and continues to destroy large areas of this species's habitat.

Small and fragmented remnant elfin forests are additionally threatened by clearance for agriculture and grazing.