It apparently inhabits the understorey and mid-storey of very wet elfin forest and tall forest at 1,900-2,600 m (but potentially heard down to 1,800 m), with abundant epiphytes, bamboo thickets and scattered palms and tree ferns (O'Neill and Graves 1977, Fjeldså and Krabbe 1990, Cardiff and Remsen 1995, D. Lane in litt. 2003, 2007, Schulenberg et al. 2007, F. Angulo Pratolongo in litt. 2020). If local reports of the species in elfin forest at Wichim are confirmed, it also occurs below 1,200 m. It is conjectured that the species could be almost flightless (Fjeldså and Krabbe 1990).

This species is endemic to northern Peru. From discovery in 1976 to the early 2000s, the species had been observed only twice and its life history had been almost unknown. It was discovered in the Garcia area north-east of Abra Patricia, San Martín, and was subsequently collected east of Bagua, Amazonas, in the Cordillera de Colán (O'Neill and Graves 1977, Fjeldså and Krabbe 1990). In total, five specimens could be collected (O'Neill and Graves 1977, J. Hornbuckle in litt. 1999). In 2002, the territorial call was confirmed and recorded at the type-locality in the Abra Patricia area (D. Lane in litt. 2003, 2007). In 2007 it was seen in the wild for the first time, at Abra Patricia, when birds were seen three times in daylight hours, and an individual was also captured in a mist-net (Anon. 2007). Acquisition of the recording has allowed more thorough searches to take place (D. Lane in litt. 2003, 2007, Lane and Angulo 2018), and one bird was seen at the Lechucita Bigotona Lodge, Abra Patricia, in 2008 in response to playback of the Lane recording (F. Lambert in litt. 2008). In January the 2010, one bird was observed and at least five heard in a primate reserve near the village of La Esperanza some 15 km west of Abra Patricia (S. Alterman, N. Shanee and E. Fonseca in litt. 2010), a site at which it has been recorded several times since. Two further sites have been located since then, both in Amazonas: the Hierba Buena-Allpayacu Private Conservation Area near Corosha, and a location near the town of Yambrasbamba (F. Angulo Pratolongo in litt. 2012). In the past decade, the species has been found regularly in the field and is now known from at least 11 localities in the San Martín and Amazonas departments (Lane and Angulo 2018). Near Abra Patricia, the species was found to occur at relatively high densities (F. Angulo Pratolongo in litt. 2020). It appears to be both difficult to catch and reluctant to respond to playback, but may prove to be more widespread (D. Lane in litt. 2003, 2007; Lane and Angulo 2018).

Conservation Actions Underway
CITES Appendix II. It is considered Vulnerable at the national level in Peru (SERFOR 2018). It occurs in the Alto Mayo Protected Forest, San Martín, and in the private protected areas of Copallin, Hierba Buena-Allpayacu and Abra Patricia-Alto Nieva (Lane and Angulo 2018). New private protected areas are being established in the communities of Yambrashamba and Pomacochas (J. Altamirano Guerrero in litt. 2020). In any case, the protected status appears to have had little or no effect on the rate of deforestation. Recent records come from the Abra Patricia-Alto Nieva Private Conservation Area, a recently protected private conservation area (Anon. 2007), and the Hierba Buena-Allpayacu Private Conservation Area near Corosha (F. Angulo Pratolongo in litt. 2012). The diet of the species was investigated near the Yamrbrashamba community in 2014-2016 (J. Altamirano Guerrero in litt. 2020).

Conservation Actions Proposed
Survey suitable habitat on each of the isolated ridges in the region, particularly in the Cordillera de Colán National Sanctuary, Pampa del Burro, Copallín, Chayu Nain Communal Reserve and Río Nieva Reserved Zone (Lane and Angulo 2018). Search further sites in Amazonas department, including the Río Chido area, near Florida de Pomacochas and around Mendoza near Chachapoyas, as well as in the Cordillera del Condor on the border of Peru and Ecuador (Lane and Angulo 2018). Effectively protect the Alto Mayo Protected Forest, and ensure that high-elevation forest is included within its boundaries (Hornbuckle 1999, J. Hornbuckle in litt. 1999). Establish a protected area in the Cordillera de Colán, and search for the species on its eastern side (Davies et al. 1997, F. Angulo Pratolongo in litt. 2012).