This species inhabits humid, semi-deciduous and gallery forests, and is often recorded in woodland edges (del Hoyo 1994). Surveys in a variety of landscapes in the Brazilian Pantanal recorded 72% of individuals in closed forest habitats and 28% in open grassland, usually near forest edge (Desbiez and São Bernardo 2011). In Argentina, it appears to be restricted to gallery forest (MAyDS and Aves Argentinas 2017). It is primarily frugivorous but also has been noted feeding on seeds, flowers and invertebrates (del Hoyo and Motis 2004). Breeding evidence has been noted in the southern hemisphere summer in Paraguay and Argentina; nest is a platform located in a tree (del Hoyo and Motis 2004).

Crax fasciolata occurs in eastern Bolivia (C. f. grayi), with the nominate C. f. fasciolata occurring in central and south-west Brazil, Paraguay and north Argentina. The nominate race occurs in Brazil from Sao Paulo, Paraná (at least formerly) and Mato Grosso do Sul, north through Minas Gerais, Goiás and Mato Grosso, and into Pará (del Hoyo 1994, WikiAves 2018). In Bolivia the species is widely distributed throughout the llanos de moxos (savannas), with many areas holding protected populations (B. Hennessey in litt. 2003). In Argentina, populations remain only in Formosa, and in Chaco, where there have been recent reports from the Zapirán, Oro and Guaicurú rivers (Anon. 2018), and a record of a single female at Chaco National Park that may be an escaped or released captive individual (Bodrati and Lammertink 2011, MAyDS and Aves Argentinas 2017). It has disappeared from Corrientes (where it was last recorded in c.1980), Misiones and Santa Fe (MAyDS and Aves Argentinas 2017). In Paraguay, the species was previously thought to have been almost or completely extirpated from much of its range, but in 1999 the species was still relatively numerous in northern Concepción Department (Clay 2001). It is still recorded an annual basis in gallery forests in Concepción and Ñeembucú Departments, and a nest was discovered in 2011 in the Chaco-Pantanal area (H. del Castillo in litt. 2014).

Conservation  and research actions underway
The species is listed as nationally Endangered in Argentina (MAyDS and Aves Argentinas 2017) and nationally Vulnerable in Paraguay (Ministerio del Ambiente y Desarollo Sostenibile 2019). It occurs in a number of protected areas, including Río Pilcomayo National Park and Guaycolec Provincial Reserve in Argentina, Emas, Brasília, and Araguaia National Parks in Brazil, and San Rafael National Park, Mbaracayú Forest Nature Reserve, and Serranía San Luis National Park in Paraguay. In Argentina, it is legally protected in Formosa, and an action plan has been developed for its conservation in Chaco (Anon. 2018).

A captive population is maintained and a project is underway to reintroduce the species to the Iberá Reserve in Corrieres, with several captive individuals released in 2020 (Zamboni et al. 2018, Rewilding Argentina 2020). There are also plans in place to reintroduce the species to the Chaco National Park (Anon. 2018). Also in Argentina, a project is underway, with actions to delimit further protected areas and to carry out an education programme (Anon. 2018).

Research is underway on the species's population size, distribution and ecology in Argentina (Anon. 2018).

Conservation and research actions proposed

Expand the protected area network to effectively protect IBAs. Protect remaining forest across its range. Effectively resource and manage existing and new protected areas. Enforce legislation prohibiting hunting and forest clearance, particularly in Paraguay and Argentina. Promote ecotourism to encourage the species's conservation. Reintroduce the species to parts of its range where it has been extirpated. Continue education programmes to raise awareness of the species's conservation needs.

Carry out further surveys across the range to produce a population size estimate. Research the impact of hunting on the species's population size. Monitor hunting levels and deforestation across the species's range.