The Gray-crested Finch searches the ground in pairs or loose groups and uses dry scrub. Juveniles are browner overall, with buffy-white eyebrows and throats.
Juveniles are browner overall than adults, with buffy-white eyebrows and throats. Their head pattern resembles that of the Black-crested Finch, but their cheeks are gray and the crest and mask are not black.
It occurs in pairs or loose flocks and forages on the ground. Habitats listed for Bolivia include dry to semi-humid scrub, cactus scrub, open woodland, farmland, villages, and towns.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.