This canary ranges through mountain areas from Eritrea to northern Malawi and western Angola. Adult males of the nominate form show conspicuous yellow on the head and underparts, and forage for seeds among the ground and vegetation.
An adult male of the nominate subspecies has a golden forehead, crown and sides of the neck, an olive back streaked dark brown, yellow underparts and two yellow wing bars. Females are described as greener overall, with duller yellow on the forehead and neck.
It feeds on seeds on the ground and in low vegetation, using mountain woodland edges, clearings, grassland and scrub. The account also notes that it may climb into trees to collect some seeds.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.