It is a local resident in humid broadleaf forests and adjacent plantations of the Pacific slope of western Guatemala and southern Chiapas, Mexico.

In Guatemala, abundance was positively correlated with the density of Ficus aurea trees.

The nesting season ranges from April to September, during which azure-rumped tanagers move in pairs or family groups.

In Guatemala, only 21% or 25,000 ha (62,000 acres) of the potential area of distribution are still covered with broadleaf forest, the tanager's prime habitat.

For Chiapas, there is no recent estimate, but in the 1980s there were 112,000 ha of suitable habitat, which is expected to be much smaller now due to a growing human population and increased pressure by agricultural activities.