The Band-tailed Sierra Finch forages on the ground in open Andean country. Males are gray with a white tail band, while females are brown and streaked.
Males are gray with a white belly and undertail and a broad white tail band. Females are brown and streaked, without the white band.
It forages on the ground and is recorded in open country on the western Andean slopes and in inter-Andean valleys.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.