It is found in the northern Guianas, most of Venezuela, and east-central Colombia; also near the Amazon River outlet in Brazil, as well as most of the east of that country, Paraguay, and northeast Argentina.

Males of the cayana group have an orange-rufous crown, black mask, and cream underparts distinctly tinged blue on the throat and chest.

Males of the flava group have an orange-buff crown and buff underparts with a black patch extending from the mask, over the throat and central chest, to the mid-belly.

As with all tanagers, it is a largely frugivorous species, being particularly fond of the fruits of the native Cecropia and Brazilian pepper as well as that of introduced Magnoliaceae such as Michelia champaca.

[2] The burnished-buff tanager was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the 12th edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Tanagra cayana.