This sparrow uses dry grassland and scrub in South America. It breeds in north-central Argentina, and some birds move seasonally into Bolivia and Paraguay.
About 15–16 cm long. The head has dark, pale, and brown stripes, with a dark line through the eye; the back and flanks are brown and the underside is paler.
It searches the ground for seeds and insects in dry scrub and grassy farm edges, alone or in pairs. The profile describes a grass nest with three to four pale-blue eggs.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.