It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.

The plumage of both sexes is entirely black, the beak is whitish, long and pointed, and the iris is blue in adults and brown in juveniles.

Also similar is the red-rumped cacique (C. haemorrhous), but it reveals its bright red rump patch when in flight.

[2] This bird has a number of noisy calls, including a repeated "péach-yo" and "péach-yo-yo", uttered while perched with raised tail, a "k-cheeyow?

[1] It typically lives in moist woodland and the edges of riverside and Várzea forests, at altitudes of up to 400 m (1,300 ft).