It is a fairly common bird and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it a "least-concern species".

Females from the lower Amazon region and southeastern Brazil have a generally duller colouration with less rufous wings and less yellow underparts.

Its call of this bird is a loud "tchew-tchew-tchew" which is sung from an elevated position,[3][4] and it also produces various trills and rattling sounds which vary in tone and pitch.

It is found in marshes, near the edges of ponds and lakes and in adjacent grassland, and its altitudinal range is up to about 600 metres (2,000 ft).

[4] This bird usually occurs in pairs and is much less gregarious than the chestnut-capped blackbird which is found in similar swampy habitat.