It is found in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly South Africa.

It was described as a new species in 1861 by German ornithologist Theodor von Heuglin.

[2] Von Heuglin wrote that it has a wide ventral stripe, likely inspiring its species name "ventralis.

[3] Its range includes several countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, such as The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

[1] It has been called "the rarest of the African molossids"[3] and the IUCN currently assesses it as data deficient.