The Grey-browed Brush-finch is distributed from the Andes of western Venezuela through Colombia and Ecuador to Peru. See the distribution map at Birdlife International. The recent work by Cadena and Cuervo separates this species from Stripe-headed Brush Finch A. torquatus defined by most authorities is distributed from northern Venezuela and Colombia through the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. This recent change in taxonomy has been adopted by the South American Classification Committee and by the HBW and Birdlife International checklist.

The song is a series of thin whistles often with three elements to the phrase.