It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, French Guiana, Paraguay, and Uruguay, where its natural habitats are swamps, ricefields and pastureland.

It has a straight dark-coloured beak with a sharp tip, and dark legs.

The upper parts of the female are a dark olive-brown, slightly streaked with black, and the underparts are paler olive-brown; the streaking on the back of this species is less distinct than in other birds in this genus.

[2] The chestnut-capped blackbird is found in the tropical and semi-tropical eastern part of South America at altitudes of up to 850 metres (2,800 ft).

It is found in the vicinity of water, in marshes, in nearby grassland and in rice fields.