 The streaky seedeater was formerly placed in the genus "Serinus" but phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences found that the genus was polyphyletic.The genus was therefore split and a number of species including the streaky seedeater were moved to the resurrected genus "Crithagra".In the Degua Tembien mountains, the bird was found to be a breeding resident of woodland edges, scrubland and forest edges.