It is native to South America, where it occurs in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

The female catches large quantities of insects during breeding because they are an important food for the chicks.

The bird catches insect prey by hawking, picking them from plants, and plucking them from spider webs.

It is made of plant fibers, spider webs, animal hairs, and down, and it is lined externally with moss for camouflage.

[3] The fawn-breasted brilliant makes two different vocalizations, a series of “tchik” notes and a common “swi-swi-swi-swu” call.