The Green-crowned Plovercrest is distributed in south-east Brazil from Espírito Santo to north-east São Paulo.

It is found in the understorey of the Atlantic Rain Forest and in scrub land. It is often associated with streams.

These photos are of males showing the long elegant crest which is lacking in the female. The HBW and Birdlife International Checklist separate this species from Violet-crowned Plovercrest S. loddigesii, found further south, on the basis that the latter shows an iridescent blue forehead and has a less extensive violet-blue belly.