The Montezuma Oropendola is distributed in Central America from eastern Mexico to central Panama. See the distribution map at Birdlife International. It is found in humid forest mainly in clearings or at the edges as well as along rivers.

It nests in large colonies averaging about 30 nests per colony. The alpha male fathers most of the chicks in the colony although some lower ranking males manage to sneak in the odd offspring.

When displaying, the male performs a deep bow while singing as in photo 3.