A small seedeater of southern South American grasslands. It takes grass seeds and places its nest in low shrubs during the breeding season.
A breeding male has a grayish crown and upper back, tawny-orange lower face, breast and belly, and a tawny-rufous rump.
In a study of highland grassland in southern Brazil, females built small cup nests from fine grass tassels on shrubs and incubated alone for about 12 days. Males began helping to feed nestlings around day five.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.