It inhabits wet montane forest, forest edge and and tall secondary growth adjacent to primary forest. It may undertake some seasonal altitudinal movements to lower zones, but the exact nature of these is still unclear (del Hoyo 1994, del Hoyo and Kirwan 2020). It feeds on fruit, usually in pairs or groups of three.

Aburria aburri is found on the slopes of the north and central Andes, from north-west Venezuela through Colombia and Ecuador to southern Peru (del Hoyo 1994, Parker et al. 1996).

Conservation Actions Underway
The species occurs in several protected areas across its range. It is listed as Vulnerable at the national level in Venezuela and Peru (Rojas-Suárez et al. 2015, SERFOR 2018) and as Near Threatened in Ecuador (Freile et al. 2019). Some environmental education and awareness programmes were carried out in Venezuela, though these are no longer ongoing (Rojas-Suárez et al. 2015).

Conservation Actions Proposed
Obtain basic ecological information such as habitat use and requirements, home range size, population dynamics and seasonal movements. Assess the impact of habitat loss and fragmentation on populations. Quantify the impact of hunting on the population size. Monitor population trends at known sites.
Control hunting more effectively. Re-establish and expand campaigns to raise awareness and reduce hunting. Consider establishing captive breeding programmes.