It breeds from Mexico and south through Central America to northeastern Argentina and Uruguay, and on Trinidad.

Sexes are similar, but the immature golden-crowned warbler is duller, browner and lacks the head pattern other than the eyestripe.

The Central American culicivorus group (known as the stripe-crowned warbler) is essentially as described above, the southwestern cabanisi group (known as Cabanis's warbler) has grey upperparts and a white supercilium, and the aureocapillus group (known as the golden-crowned warbler) of the southeast, which has a white supercilium and orange-rufous crown stripe.

The song is a high thin pit-seet-seet-seet-seet, and the call is a sharp tsip.

Parent birds will feign injury to distract potential nest predators.