The Santa Marta, ruddy, and the Henna-hooded foliage-gleaner (C. erythrocephalus)) form a trio of sister species.

Adults have a reddish brown face with slightly paler lores, faint brighter markings on the ear coverts, and a ring of bare blue skin around the eye.

It inhabits the undergrowth of semi-humid forest, both primary and secondary, and also occurs in shade coffee plantations.

It typically forages in dense vegetation within 0.5 m (1.5 ft) of the ground where it takes its prey mostly from dead leaves.

[7] Aside from the discovery of an active nest in February, nothing is known about the Santa Marta foliage-gleaner's breeding biology.

[4] A very detailed description is[7] Its calls are "churrs, both two- or three-noted while foraging but three- to four-noted in alarm" and are also quite different from those of ruddy foliage-gleaner.

and "Deforestation and forest degradation are accelerating and are projected to increase further, as coffee plantations and touristic infrastructure expand across the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.