The Flame-faced Tanager lives in montane forest on the eastern Andes. Peru Aves does not assign sex to its adult examples and describes an orange face, black throat, and greenish-buff underside. It lists the Peruvian form as subspecies urubambae.
The adult description, with sex unspecified, has a bright orange forehead and cheeks that grade to yellow on the rest of the head. The throat and back are black; the shoulder patch is greenish yellow, and the underside grades from greenish buff to rufous toward the belly.
It is common in montane forest on the eastern Andean slope. Peru Aves gives an elevational range of about 1,100–2,500 m.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.