[2] It is found in southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Panama, and either definitely or probably in every South American country except Chile and Uruguay.

Their lower breast is black with coarse reddish brown bars, somewhat lighter on the flanks.

The only fairly recent records in Middle America are from Belize, Guatemala, and Panama, though it might still be present in southern Mexico.

Its status is uncertain in Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana, Paraguay, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Knowledge of its distribution is clouded by the species' resemblance to the much more widespread and populous bat falcon.

[3][8][9] The orange-breasted falcon is dependent of tropical rain- and semi-deciduous forest with cliffs for nesting.

[3] Black-and-white hawk-eagles (Spizaetus melanoleucus) and stygian owls (Asio stygius) are known predators of the orange-breasted falcon in Belize.

Falcon breeding success in a Guatemalan study was much greater at nests protected from Black Vultures.

Forty-five species of birds, of 22 families, have been documented as prey in Belize and Guatemala some of which include killdeer, Lesser yellowlegs, spotted sandpiper, pectoral sandpiper, scaled pigeon, mourning dove, Ruddy ground dove, grey headed dove, blue ground dove, Ruddy quail dove, olive throated parakeet, brown Hooded parrot, white crowned parrot, pauraque,white collared swift, Lesser Swallow tailed swift, citrline trogon, violaceous trogon, slaty tailed trogon, blue crowned motmot, emerald touconet, Acorn woodpecker, Barred woodpecker, Golden olive woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird, rose throated becard, masked tityra, black crowned tityra, green Jay, Swainsons thrush, grey breasted Martin, Ridgway's rough winged Swallow, tropical mockingbird, red legged honeycreeper, batteries sparrow, rose breasted grosbeak, melodious blackbird.

It usually hunts above the forest canopy, either by diving from a cliff or dead treetop or by stooping from great height.

[7][3] "It also uses a stealth strategy for capturing migrating songbirds, shorebirds, and bats, by silhouetting them against the sky at dusk and dawn.

[7][3] An orange-breasted falcon purposely crashed into leaves of trees with water gathered on them, apparently as a form of bathing.

As of 2013, 23 had become independent and some have paired with wild bred birds and entered the local breeding population.