Hops along the ground or climbs clumsily through low vegetation, looking for insects and small vertebrates, especially lizards, and pouncing on them with large bill. Also forages near cattle or visits army ant swarms to catch prey scared up by their activity.
Found in dense, low vegetation such as shrubs or small trees in open wetlands and lowlands. Nonbreeding birds sometimes move farther afield in the nonbreeding season, especially during droughts.