The Western Ornate Flycatcher is distributed in the Andes from northern Colombia through Ecuador on the Western Cordillera. See the distribution map at Birdlife International. It is found at the borders of humid forest at between 600 and 2,300 metres where it tends to perch upright at lower levels watching for insect prey which it catches on the wing.

Some authorities lump this species with Eastern Ornate Flycatcher M. phoenicurus but the HBW and Birdlife International Checklist splits it into the two species on the basis of size, length of tail and various other plumage differences.