A breeding-plumaged male shows a red throat and chest against dark plumage; the breeding female is more buff and streaked, with a duller red breast. The species searches for food on the ground.
The adult male in breeding plumage has salmon-red on the throat, chest, and upper belly against dark upperparts. The breeding female is buff and streaked, with a duller red breast and dark streaks on the buff flanks.
It searches for food on the ground and may gather in flocks in winter. During breeding, males sing as they rise from a low perch and descend with partly open wings in a display flight.
It feeds on insects and seeds on the ground and among low vegetation, and also takes berries.
Eggs from Surinam have a pale bluish to pale greyish-blue ground with reddish-brown markings. These range from small spots to large blotches, and some eggs are nearly unmarked.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.