Confusingly, and contrary to the suggestion of the 2000 paper's authors, the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society, the Clements taxonomy, and some field guide authors call P. unirufa the rufous cacholote.

The species inhabits gallery forest, woodlands, and seasonally flooded savanna within the Pantanal, and is often found near human dwellings.

[8] The grey-crested cacholote is thought to be monogamous and to breed in the austral spring and summer.

Its nest is a mass of sticks and branches that is typically twice as long as it is wide, with feathers, shells, bones, and other items incorporated, and placed in a tree about 4 or 5 m (10 or 20 ft) above the ground.

An entrance tunnel near its bottom leads to an inner chamber lined with pieces of bark and snake skin.

The clutch size, incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.

The grey-crested cacholote usually sings in duet, "sustained, loud, accelerating, slightly descending 'chew' notes mixed with chattering and rattles, finishing with combined cackling".