The species occurs in very wide variety of forest habitats from gallery and open woodland through to fairly open savannah with clumps of trees but is not typically found in dense humid forest. It is found from sea level up to 800 m, occasionally as high as 1,300 m. It feeds on reptiles, amphibians, insects, small mammals and birds.

This species has a large range from Central America to Amazonia and south into Argentina. It occurs from southwest Costa Rica, south through Panama and Colombia to west Ecuador on the west of the Andes and on the east of the Andes from east Colombia, Venezuela and Guianas through east Ecuador, northeast Peru and much of Brazil to north and east Bolivia, Paraguay and north Argentina. The species is also found in Trinidad and Tobago.