This brushfinch is recorded in the mountains of Peru's eastern Andes, at about 1,750–3,050 m in the PeruAves account. Clements 2024 split the former Tricolored Brushfinch into two species and uses Golden-crowned Brushfinch for A. tricolor, so this entry limits the range to Peru.
It is about 18 cm long, with a dark grey back and tail, black sides of the head, and a yellow crown and underside.
It forages in the understory of dense montane forest, along tall scrub edges, and in bamboo. The account does not specify food types.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.