Large woodcreeper found in humid and montane forests and woodlands including woodland edges and gallery forests. The bill is medium length and fairly straight. Like many woodcreepers, it is largely rufous-brown, but it has buff streaks on the head, neck, throat, and upper back. The belly is marked with dark horizontal bars. Occasionally associated with army-ant swarms and regularly follows mixed-species flocks. The song is a repetition of 5–8 “whip-whip-whip” notes.