A pale sand-colored sparrow-like bird of sparsely vegetated hills and rocky valleys; it also eats insects during breeding.
In breeding plumage, males are pale sandy on the head and back, with two light bands formed by the wing-feather edges. The sexes look alike, and juveniles are duller.
It searches on the ground or in low vegetation, eating mainly seeds and young leaves. During breeding it also takes insects and feeds chicks larvae and small cicadas.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.