The Saffron-crowned Tanager is average-sized for a tanager, measuring between 4.9 and 5.3 inches in length and weighing between 0.53 and 0.83 ounces. Adults exhibit a striking blue-green body, blackish streaking on the back, and a yellow head with a black forecrown, lores, orbital area, and chin. Their wings and tail feathers are black, edged in blue-green, and the belly center and undertail coverts are buff. The iris is dark brown, the bill black, and the feet gray. Juveniles resemble adults but are duller and more greenish, with yellowish-green instead of yellow on the head and buff-edged underparts​​. This species' natural habitat includes the northern Andes of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, inhabiting cloud forests, forest edges, and secondary forests, especially areas with mossy trees. They are found at elevations between 3,300 and 8,900 feet. This tanager is predominantly frugivorous, feeding mainly on fruits from trees like Cecropia, Morus, Miconia, and others in the Melostomataceae family, although they also consume insects. Foraging behavior is quite active, with individuals moving around or hopping while foraging, primarily in the canopy. When foraging for insects, they inspect mossy branches and often stick their heads into moss clumps​​​​. Socially, the Saffron-crowned Tanager is known to forage in pairs or small groups of up to 10 individuals, often part of mixed-species flocks. This species is thought to be socially monogamous, forming breeding pairs. The breeding season varies across its range, normally with two eggs per nest. Additionally, there are three recognized subspecies of the Saffron-crowned Tanager, which differ primarily in the color of their crown: T. x. venusta, T. x. xanthocephala, and T. x. lamprotis, found in different parts of Venezuela, Peru, and Bolivia respectively​​.