Often heard but rarely seen; a retiring little gray bird of bamboo thickets and other dense shrubbery at forest edges and along streams, mainly in humid areas. Occurs locally in boulders and low scrub, mainly in the Andes. Can move very quickly through bamboo like a mouse. Plumage is slaty gray overall, often with some paler or brownish barring; some birds have a silvery-white cap or a few white head spots. Best told from Dusky Tapaculo, which has a limited range overlap by voice. Also compare with Ochre-flanked Tapaculo.