Commonly known as golden-winged grosbeaks, they are attractive, chunky, medium-sized, robust-billed songbirds restricted to the southern Arabian and northern Somalian regions.

Males are grey-brown overall with a black bill, dark mask, white cheeks, and large, bright yellow patches on the wings and tail.

Also it has been observed performing a greenfinch-like slow-winged display flight which suggests its true affinities may lie within the genus Carduelis.

Altogether, Rhynchostruthus seems to belong to a group of Carduelinae which includes such birds as Carduelis, the oriole finch (Linurgus olivaceus), and the canaries, many of which have large amounts of brilliant yellow plumage.

Molecular genetic studies have shown that Rhynchostruthus and Rhodospiza form a distinct clade but are not closely related to any other of the birds commonly referred to as "grosbeaks".