This brush-finch lives in montane forest on the eastern Andean slope. The account describes dark sides of the head, back, and tail, a rufous crown and nape, a dark throat, and dull yellow underparts. It forages in low shrubs at forest edges.
Adults have dark sides of the head, back, and tail, with a rufous crown and nape. The throat is blackish and the underparts are dull yellow.
It forages close to the ground in dense low shrubs along forest edges and in semi-open habitat.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.