Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela.
Amazonian southern Colombia, southern Venezuela (Amazonas, Bolívar) and southern Guyana to eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, northern Bolivia and north-western and north-central Brazil; also northern French Guiana and extreme north-central Brazil (north-eastern Amapá).
 
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Drab Water Tyrant (Ochthornis littoralis) [XC258895]
by Paul Coopmans from Pastaza: river island at Kapawi, Ecuador (call, calls)
Drab Water Tyrant (Ochthornis littoralis) [XC226840]
by John V. Moore from Pantiacolla Lodge, Madre de Dios, Peru (duet)
Subspecies
No subspecies.
Genus merged with Ochthoeca by some authors, but separate generic status supported by morphological and anatomical evidence and differences in behaviour and habitat.