It widely distributed across Africa and southern Asia and is found in a variety of wetland habitats, including swamps and the edges of larger water bodies such as lakes and rivers.

The greater painted-snipe was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.

[2][3] Linnaeus based his account on the "Bengall water rail" that had been described and illustrated in 1738 by the English naturalist Eleazar Albin in his A Natural History of Birds.

Albin had examined a drawing that had been sent to the English silk-pattern designer Joseph Dandridge from Bengal.

[5] The Australian painted-snipe (Rostratula australis) was formerly treated as a subspecies but was promoted to species status based on the differences in morphology and in the vocal calls.

[10] Greater painted-snipe are very widely distributed; in mainland Africa as well as Madagascar and the Seychelles; in India, and Southeast Asia.

They are notably absent from the eastern portion of Somalia, from the desert areas of Namibia, and from parts of Botswana and South Africa.

[13] Although this species inhabits a variety of wetland habitats, it prefers muddy areas with available cover (i.e., vegetation).

[12] They are usually found close to the fringes of reed beds along shorelines of marshes, swamps, ponds and streams.

[16] The greater painted-snipe is as "Least Concern" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), due to its large range and the relatively slow rate of population decrease.