The Spotted Tanager is distributed in south-east Venezuela, the Guianas and the lower Amazon Basin of Brazil. There is a disjunct population on the lower eastern slopes of the Andes from Ecuador to north-west Bolivia. See the distribution map at Birdlife International.

Upperparts are mainly bright green with black spots. The face and throat have a blue-grey tinge while underparts are white with large black spots and the flanks are yellow-green with black spots.

It feeds mainly on insects which it hunts for on the outer leaves of the canopy but can be seen lower down when attracted by a fruiting tree.