The black-striped sparrow (Arremonops conirostris) is a mainly terrestrial species, like congeners, it is not necessarily conspicuous, unless singing, as the species generally remains on or close to the ground, usually in pairs, and is typically rather shy. . The adult is distinctive, with a grey head which has broad black stripes each side of the crown and narrower black stripes through each eye.

The Black-striped Sparrow is widely distributed over the northernmost third of South America and much of Central America, where it is a fairly common resident in shrubby and bushy woodland, from Honduras south to western Ecuador and northernmost Brazil.