The species is endemic to Colombia where it is found in two areas of the High Andes at altitudes between about . The largest population is on the Volcán Ruiz-Tolima massif in the Central Cordillera but there is a smaller population on Puracé Volcano in the Cauca Department, and the bird's range may well include the intervening area. Its typical habitat is páramo, a high altitude grass and shrub ecosystem lying between the high snow-capped mountains and the montane forest below, and sub-páramo. It is also present in montane shrublands, and even agricultural land at high elevations.