This icterid lives in open grasslands of South America. The male is black with red patches and a white eyebrow, while the female is brown-toned and looks different.
The adult male is mostly black, with red throat, belly, and wing epaulettes and a white eyebrow. The female has buff-edged dark brown upperparts and yellowish-brown underparts. Juveniles resemble paler females.
It uses open wet grassland, marshes, and bushy pasture. It forages on the ground for invertebrates; its overall diet is listed as omnivorous.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.