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.

This is a solitary and fairly shy species which tends to keep to the cover of bushes, although it will sing from more open perches.

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.