It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical swamps and heavily degraded former forest.

The feathers at the front of the crown are very short and dense, giving a velvet-like appearance at close quarters.

The beak is short, conical and pointed, the iris is dark and the tail is long and somewhat rounded.

The calls produced include a crackling "chack" and a whistling "cheziit", and the song, sometimes sung at dusk from a perch, is a moderately-musical rapid gurgling sound.

The birds move noisily through the canopy, foraging high and low, and sometimes hopping around on floating vegetation on lakes.