[2] American ornithologist Robert Ridgway described them in 1909 in the same paper as separate species, Myrmeciza zeledoni and M.

[3] Both taxa were later treated as subspecies of Myrmeciza immaculata, which was at the time called the immaculate antbird.

In the resulting rearrangement to create monophyletic genera, Zeledon's antbird was moved to the newly erected genus Hafferia.

[6] The species' English name and specific epithet commemorate the Costa Rican ornithologist José Cástulo Zeledón.

Both sexes have a wide pale blue ring around their eye and a deep red iris.

The nominate subspecies is found from Río San Juan Department in far southern Nicaragua south through Costa Rica into Panama as far as Coclé Province.

[8] Zeledon's antbird feeds mostly on a variety of arthropods and also on small vertebrates like lizards and frogs.

It typically forages singly, in pairs, or in family groups in dense vegetation, mostly on the ground and within about 1 m (3 ft) above it.

[8][10][11][12][excessive citations] The breeding season of Zeledon's antbird has not been detailed but appears to vary geographically.

The song of the male Zeledon's antbird is a "rapidly delivered...loud ringing and slightly descending series of clear whistled notes, 'peer-peer-peer-peer-peer-peer-peer-peer', slowing a bit toward [the] end".