As typical of most manakins, males and females have a strong sexual dimorphism in the colours of the plumage. As in the helmeted manakin, it is a relatively large and long-tailed manakin, with a total length of c. . The strikingly patterned males have predominantly white plumage.
Manakins, particularly the helmeted manakin, demonstrate a strong sexual dimorphism in their plumage coloration. This is a common characteristic of many bird species.