Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela.
Eastern Colombia, southern Venezuela and the Guianas south through Amazonia to eastern Peru, north-eastern Bolivia and central Brazil (Maranhío, northern Mato Grosso).
 
Population
Estimated population is 1,000 - 10,000 (2010).
Black Caracara (Daptrius ater) [XC407251]
by Bobby Wilcox from Sistemas de Trilhas do PPBio, Parque Nacional do Viru\u00e1, Caracara\u00ed, Roraima, Brazil (flight call)
Black Caracara (Daptrius ater) [XC222205]
by Jeremy Minns from Morro de Calzada, San Mart\u00edn, Peru (call)
Subspecies
May merit generic differentiation from Red-throated Caracara (Ibycter americanus), due to differences in morphology, habitat and behaviour.