A small yellow-green finch, with a dark facial pattern in males of the nominate subspecies. It occurs in highland grasslands and forest edges in East Africa.
The nominate male is yellow-green to olive, with a dark facial mask and bright yellow eyebrow. Females lack the black mask and have pale-yellow underparts with strong streaks on the throat and breast. The Kenyan subspecies has a different yellow facial pattern.
It eats mainly seeds, along with plant matter and small insects. It feeds on the ground or in low vegetation and is found in pairs or small groups.
In the Kenyan subspecies kikuyensis, a yellow band across the forehead joins the yellow eyebrows.
Young birds are greyish overall and heavily streaked. The wing coverts have pale buff edges, and the bill and legs are grey.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.