Extreme southern Bolivia (south-western Santa Cruz), western Paraguay, northern Argentina (south to eastern La Rioja, northern San Luis, central Córdoba and northern Buenos Aires) and south-western Uruguay.
 
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Little Thornbird (Phacellodomus sibilatrix) [XC272908]
by Bobby Wilcox from North-east of Taco Pozo, Chaco, Argentina (call)
Little Thornbird (Phacellodomus sibilatrix) [XC49926]
by Bernabe Lopez-Lanus from San Javier, Santa Fe, Argentina (song)
Subspecies
No subspecies.
Considered by some authors to form a superspecies with Rufous-fronted Thornbird (Phacellodomus rufifrons), but the two overlap considerably in distribution, and differ in body size and nest structure.