This finch of the Atlantic Forest region of southeastern South America moves in response to bamboo seed crops. Many records are from southeastern Brazil, where birds may gather when bamboo flowers.
Males have a gray head, a buff throat, pale markings on the forehead and behind the eye, and pale wing bars. The short, stout bill is adapted for seeds.
It feeds mainly on bamboo seeds and moves with bamboo flowering. It often uses high branches in thickets; foraging and singing have been recorded in trees.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.