This bird is recorded in bamboo stands in Ecuador and northwestern Peru. Recent Ecuadorian and Peruvian records describe feeding on seeds and insects in bamboo.
Birds of Colombia describes the male as similar to a Blue-black Grassquit but with a thicker bill; the female is plain brown with a darker back.
Recent records in Ecuador and Peru describe birds feeding on seeds and insects in Chusquea and other bamboo. The paper suggests birds may move after bamboo dieback.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.