It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.

The female has buffy streaks on the face, a whitish chin, and buff underparts with green spots on the throat and breast.

P. g. thaumantias has a somewhat shorter bill than the nominate, its upperparts are reddish gold, and it has less white on the outer tail feathers.

[6] The nominate subspecies of white-tailed goldenthroat is found in Trinidad and from Venezuela through the Guianas into coastal northern Brazil's Amapá state.

g. thaumantias is found from extreme southeastern Peru across Bolivia and Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean and south into eastern Paraguay and northeastern Argentina.

The species inhabits a variety of landscapes including wet grassland, shrubby savanna, cerrado, and freshwater swamps, and in dryer areas tends to be near any water.

It makes a small cup nest of plant down decorated with lichen, placed in the fork of a shrub usually between 0.5 and 1 m (1.6 and 3.3 ft) above the ground.