Endemic to sub-Saharan wetlands, avoiding forests, this species is found in northern Namibia, mainly along perennial rivers and floodplains, as well as in the Cuvelai drainage system, sometimes in large locks when pans such as Etosha are flooded. During the good rains of 2000 and 2001, locks of 460 birds were recorded on flooded Nyae Nyae Pan and 385 birds in the Mahango area of Bwabwata National Park.