It has a patchy distribution in central and east Africa. It inhabits forest and secondary growth at mid to high altitudes. It is often seen in pairs or small groups and frequently joins other bird species in mixed-species feeding flocks. A. a. alticola occurs in parts of Angola, Zambia, Malawi, south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and the Nguruman Escarpment in southern Kenya. In locations where its range overlaps with the grey apalis, it is restricted to the forest edge. A. a. dowsetti is found only on the Marungu plateau in the Democratic Republic of Congo.