A gray-brown bunting with a boldly striped head and bright chestnut wings. Pairs and small groups are resident, preferring rocky areas in heathland, arid shrubland, woodland, and grassland, where they mostly hop on the ground searching for food. The song is variable, but is typically a slightly accelerating phrase of 5-6 similar well-spaced notes, “chet-shwit-set-chwit-chet-swit.” The distinctive call is a nasal rising “neeh-neerh-neeeerh-neh” or similar. Vincent’s Bunting differs from the similar Cape Bunting by having dark slate-gray underparts, often with a black central belly.