This small sparrow breeds on rocky hillsides in the southwestern United States and winters in Mexico. It forages on the ground but does not stay in the open for long.
It has a long tail, gray body, pink bill and brown wings. Breeding males have a black chin patch that females lack.
It forages on the ground in chaparral and desert scrub. During the breeding season, males sing from exposed shrub tops; outside that season, birds may move to lower-elevation desert scrub.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.