It occurs in dense ground-scrub in deep, tall, deciduous forest. It is not usually found in disturbed forest (Van Rompaey and Colyn 2013). In Gabon, Bahaa-el-din et al. (2013) recently recorded this species across most habitat types throughout the country. In a study conducted in Nigeria, most of its prey were vertebrates, mainly mammals, followed by reptiles an birds. Invertebrate prey were also found, primarily insects, and to a lesser extent centipedes (Angelici 2014).

It is mostly found in the Central African rainforests from the Cross River westward to Cameroon and Central African Republic and southward to Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo Republic and DR Congo, north of the Congo River eastwards to the Rift Valley in eastern DR Congo (Van Rompaey and Colyn 2013). However, it was also recently recorded west of the Cross River (Angelici 2014). The presence of this species in Angola was rejected by Crawford-Cabral (1989). It ranges to 1,000 m asl.

It is present in several protected areas, including Dzangha-Sangha in Central African Republic and Okapi Faunal Reserve in DR Congo.