It is endemic to South America and is found in the eastern Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.

Eggs are laid in clutches of two, and are white with pale brown flecking concentrated on the larger end.

The flame-faced tanager was first described as Tanagra Parzudakii by Frédéric Lafresnaye in 1843, on the basis of specimens collected around Santa Fe, in Bogota, Colombia.

The specific epithet parzudakii is in honor of the French collector and natural history dealer Charles Parzudaki.

[3] Flame-faced tanager is the official common name designated by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC).

The auricle, malar surface, and forecrown is deep red, while the crown and nape are yellow.

The central belly is pale cinnamon buff, while the flanks and undertail coverts are darker.

[6] The nominate subspecies is unlikely to be mistaken for any other species due to the deep red facial plumage, but lunigera resembles the saffron-crowned tanager.

However, it can be distinguished due to the latter's greenish breast, yellow crissum (area surrounding cloaca), and smaller size.

[6] Flame-faced tanagers are found in the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Peru, at elevations of 1,000–2,600 m (3,300–8,500 ft).

Arthropods are collected almost entirely from fully and partially moss-covered branches, through a variety of methods such as gleaning and probing.

Nests are bulky, open cups made of stiff fibers, pieces of fern, moss, and other organic material.

[11] The subspecies lunigera, which is recognized as a separate species by the IUCN, is also classified as least concern for the above reasons.