Northern and central Argentina (Salta, southern Formosa and Corrientes south to eastern La Pampa and northern Río Negro), extreme south-eastern Brazil (southern and western Rio Grande do Sul) and Uruguay.
 
Population
Estimated population is 1,500 - 3,000 (2010) and decreasing.
Yellow Cardinal (Gubernatrix cristata) [XC686599]
by Guilherme Melo Becher from Parque Estadual do Esphinillo Barra do Quara\u00ed, Brazil (song)
Yellow Cardinal (Gubernatrix cristata) [XC686592]
by JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA from Parque Estadual do Esphinillo Barra do Quara\u00ed, Brazil (song)
Subspecies
No subspecies.
Genus has sometimes been placed with the cardinals (Cardinalidae), but morphological data suggest that this is unwarranted. Considered probably part of the tanager group (Thraupidae), but precise taxonomic position and closest relatives remain to be determined. Has hybridized with Common Diuca-finch (Diuca diuca) in the wild, perhaps suggesting that it belongs in the tanager clade with Diuca, Paroaria and others.