Very rare and poorly known tinamou of remote lowland rainforest. Existing records suggest that it favors areas with sandy soil. Rather small for a tinamou, with a chestnut head, a black back, wings marked with rusty bars, dingy underparts, and a pale throat. Few birders have ever seen it, and even hearing one requires some luck. Song is a series of whistles that starts out by accelerating and rising slightly in pitch, then slows down and falls towards the end.