A chunky gray-brown finch with scalloped underparts and white-tipped outer tail feathers, it breeds in pairs in dry thorn scrub and forms flocks at other times.
It has a plain gray-brown back, boldly barred and scalloped underparts, and white-tipped outer tail feathers. Males have a red head and throat; females are gray-brown overall.
Pairs breed in arid thorn scrub. Outside the breeding season they flock and roam, also using grassland, broadleaf woodland, and cultivated areas.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.