This sister species to the Green-winged Pytilia (Melba Finch) P. melba was not recorded in Namibia during the 24-year SABAP1 atlas period. However, its irruptive nature explains the sightings made by Koen (1988) in the Zambezi region of a species that is widespread and frequently recorded. It has also been recorded in a number of places around Katima Mulilo, particularly in thickets along the banks of the Zambezi River, and in piles of cleared vegetation from cultivated fields on the edge of the woodlands. More recently, it has been seen in the Bwabwata National Park, about 15 km west of the Kwandu River and about five kilometres east of Shamvura in the Kavango East region.