[4] It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, as a vagrant on the Falkland Islands and has been introduced on Rapa Nui.

[8][5][10] The chimango caracara inhabits a wide variety of open landscapes including grassy Andean foothills, heathland, shrub–steppe, and marshes.

[8] One author says it is most common in the ranching and wheat belt of the Argentinian Pampas, around Chilean fishing villages, around extensive marshlands, and at "rubbish dumps anywhere".

Members of the northern populations move into Bolivia in the non-breeding season and also in small numbers as far north in Brazil as Minas Gerais and Goiás.

[9] Its live prey include insects and other invertebrates, lizards, amphibians, the eggs and young of other birds, and rodents.

It eats smaller amounts of vegetable matter like rotten apples, fungi, and what it can glean from horse and cattle dung.

Furthermore, it typically forages on the wing, flying somewhat randomly up to 10 m (30 ft) above the ground and dropping onto prey or other food sources.

It often follows farmers as they plow (assemblies of more than 100 birds have been observed), congregates at grass fires, and frequents fishing villages and shellfish processing plants for their waste.

[12] The chimango caracara's breeding season spans September to January, with eggs laid from mid-October to mid-November in much of its range.

It usually nests in trees, building a stick platform up to about 30 m (100 ft) above the ground, but much lower in Patagonia and oriented to avoid prevailing winds.

"The explorative tendency, low neophobia, and ability to innovate showed by M. chimango may be advantageous for this generalist and opportunistic raptor and might be some of the factors underlying its ecological success.

The chimango caracara is usually most vocal during the breeding season "particularly if human or other intruders [are] near nest", but also calls during disputes over food.