This small African finch searches for seeds low in mountain forests. Males are black and yellow, while females are mostly greenish.
The male has a black head and throat, with yellow on the nape and underparts. The female is duller, with gray to olive-green plumage.
It mainly eats seeds and has also been recorded taking algae and caterpillars. In mountain forest it forages from low undergrowth to the canopy.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.