The Pale-breasted Spinetail is greyish brown above with rufous wing coverts and a rufous crown with grey forehead. It has a dull brown tail and black specks on the throat. Sick mentions that, when singing, it inflates its throat revealing the black base of the throat feathers. This effect can be seen in the first photo.

It is found in more open areas with shrubs and scattered bushes. We found the bird in photo 1 in riverside bushes beside the rio Uraricoera, a tributary of the rio Branco in Roraima.