The Rufous-thighed Kite is distributed in the central and eastern part of the Amazon Basin south through Brazil to northern Argentina, Paraguay and eastern Bolivia. Common in Suriname but not in the coastal area.

Dense undisturbed rain forest. It hunts in the iddle to lower strata. Data not undisputed.

Not well known, nest is built of twigs and lined with leaves, clutch size probably 2 eggs.

Not well known, probably chiefly larger insects and meaby lizards. Hunts with bird eating species (Bicolored Hawk) to avoid mobbing by small birds. Sometimes follows ant streams and found near monkeys to feed on flushed insects.

This species has a large range, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 3,700,000 km2. It has a large global population estimated to be 10,000-100,000 individuals (Ferguson-Lees et al. 2001). Global population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Very little data available, thought to be sedentary.