This cardinal occurs along Brazil's Araguaia River and tributaries. It forms small flocks along lake margins and slow-flowing rivers.
It has dark crimson patches on the crown and throat, a white chest and breast, and faint black barring on the sides of the breast. The paper reports no sexual color difference in P. baeri.
It is usually found in small flocks along lakes and sluggish rivers, often among waterside shrubs such as Sapium and Psidium.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.