Mountains of north, central, eastern and south-eastern New Guinea: Gauttier Mts, Bewani Mts and Adelbert Mts, central ranges eastern from Weyland Mts, Mt Bosavi, also mountains in Huon Peninsula and south-eastern ranges.
 
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Buff-faced Scrubwren (Aethomyias perspicillatus) [XC26819]
by Niels Krabbe from 1 km N 'Warili Lodge', below Tari Gap, Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea (call, calls of group)
Buff-faced Scrubwren (Aethomyias perspicillatus) [XC105059]
by Phil Gregory from Grasberg, Freeport, Snow Mts, Papua, Indonesia (song)
Subspecies
No subspecies.
Forms a species pair with closely related Vogelkop Scrubwren (Sericornis rufescens). Form described as Sericornis nigroviridis (dark olive-green, with dull blackish-grey on head to breast and central belly, some grey tips on upper throat) based on a single specimen from near Wau (south-eastern New Guinea), believed to be almost certainly a melanistic individual of present species.