This finch is patchily distributed across south-central South America in open habitats. Its plumage varies with age, feather wear, and geography, so the regional color pattern is described as a tendency rather than a rule.
The specimen study reports substantial plumage variation with age, feather wear, and geography. Birds from dry northern highlands are typically larger, paler, and less streaked than those from wet southern lowlands, although exceptions occur.
The species uses a variety of open habitats, usually near water. In the southeastern Brazilian Highlands study, however, it was recorded in dry high-elevation grassland, unlike the wet grasslands and freshwater marshes reported for southern populations.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.