Near the Amazon River, its range extends east to about the Madeira River, while in the southern half of its range it extends east to the Xingu River.
There are currently three described species; one each in the Xingu, Nickerie and Essequibo river basins.
This corridor is about 700 km wide, and includes the confluence areas downstream of the major rivers: Rio Negro, Madeira, Tapajós, Xingu, and the outlet section of the Tocantins River in the southeast Basin's neighbouring river system, Araguaia-Tocantins.
East of the Tapajós, the range expands into the Cerrado, the upper half of the Xingu River drainage, and the entire drainage system of the Araguaia-Tocantins River, (the eastward system, typically considered part of the 'Amazon Basin').
Mississippi River | River Thames | Amazon River | Columbia River | Hudson River | Colorado River | Potomac River | river | Ohio River | Missouri River | Delaware River | Murray River | River Tyne | Madeira River | Volga River | River Nene | River Clyde | River Trent | River Severn | Amur River | River Wear | Allegheny River | Red River | Dnieper River | Yarra River | Paraná River | River Tees | Fraser River | Yangtze River | Tocantins River |
They had peaceful encounters with outsiders along the Xingu and Iriri Rivers.
Downstream in the east, the bird's range starts at the confluence of the Xingu River in the south of Pará state, North Region, Brazil; it ranges upstream on the Xingu for 700 km, then a tributary to the west of the Xingu, the Rio Iriri, for another 700 km.
In the southeast Basin, it is in the Tapajos River and Xingu River drainages; also two thirds of the adjacent river system, the lower Araguaia–Tocantins River drainage.
The eastern range extends to the upstream third of the Xingu River, then further east to the upstream half of the Araguaia in the Araguaia-Tocantins River system.
It is found in northern Bolivia (Beni Department and Santa Cruz Department) and Brazil (in the southern Amazon between the Tocantins River, Xingu, Tapajós, and Madeira Rivers).
It originates from the Xingu River basin, but is restricted to the rapids area around Altamira City, Pará, Brazil.
The rivers in the Amazon Basin, going upstream are the following: Amazon River, (Tocantins, Araguaia— east of the Xingu), Xingu River, Madeira, and Marañón-Ucayali, (in Amazonian Peru).
1925: Colonel Percy Fawcett vanishes near the headwaters of the Xingu River.