This resident cuckoo is found from Mexico and Trinidad south to Bolivia and Argentina and Colombia.

The striped cuckoo is found in open country with trees or shrubs, and the edges of mangrove forests.

It is among the very few brood parasitic cuckoos of the Americas (only other are Dromococcyx), and typical hosts are spinetails, but often also wrens, and other species with domed nests.

The female cuckoo lays one, sometimes two, white or bluish eggs in the host's large stick nest.

Other than saci, the bird is also known as matinta-pereira, pitica (Pará), crispim, fenfém, martim-pererê, matimpererê, matintapereira, matintaperera, matitaperê, peitica, peito-ferido, roceiro-planta, seco-fico, sede-sede, saci-do-campo, sem-fim, fém-fém, tempo-quente, bulhões, bolinhas, feijão, feijoada, jotalhão, gansolino, peixe-frito (Bahia), e peixe-frito-seu-veríssimo.