The six northern races and the subspecies N. a. brubru of southern Africa are found in acacia and broadleaved woodland, whereas the three subspecies in a belt from northeastern Angola and northern Namibia east to Tanzania and northern Mozambique occur in Brachystegia miombo woodland.
The species inhabits the Somalia-Masai floristic region, an arid semi-desert characterized by Acacia-Commiphora bushland and Brachystegia woodland in upland localities.
The woodlands include Brachystegia trees, while a variety of flowers, among them the rare Eulophia norlindhii orchid, flourish in the grass beneath the trees.