[6] The genus name Stilpnia was proposed in 2016 instead of Tangara for T. heinei in order to match the phylogenetic relationships among tanagers.

[6] This bird is most closely related to the straw-backed tanager (Stilpnia argyrofenges) from which it diverged during the late Pleistocene glaciation cycles.

[6] "Black-capped tanager" has been designated as the official common name for the species by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC).

Its upper-parts are a shining silvery bluish-grey, which extends to the upper tail coverts, and contrasts sharply with the black crown.

[3][4] The rest of the underparts are a dull and uniform greyish-blue, with the exception of the undertail-coverts: these feathers have dark centers and broad, white edges.

[3][4] The female, in contrast, has a dusky crown, the feathers of which are edged in green, giving it a slightly scaly appearance.

The beryl-spangled tanager (Tangara nigroviridis) is also similar, but lacks the dark crown and is uniformly opalescent over its head; it also has a more strongly spangled underside.

[4] Black-capped tanagers are found in tropical moist montane forests in northern Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela.

[1][9] The species is found at the edges of subtropical forest, secondary woodland, and trees and bushes in nearby open spaces, although it is locally uncommon.

[4] It is found in the Colombian, Venezuelan, Ecuadoran, and Peruvian Andes, including in the Sierra de Perijá, and also in the Santa Marta mountains in Colombia.

Within Ecuador, it was first recorded on the western slopes of the Andes only in 1980, leading researchers to suggest it may have expanded its range as a result of deforestation.

[11] The black-capped tanager mainly forages for insects in low shrubs and in trees, staying close to the trunk, on branches that are either bare or covered in moss.

In the absence of evidence for population or range declines, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classified it in 2018 as a species of "least concern".