Pale-yellow Robins live entirely in the rainforest. There are two subspecies, both occur in coastal eastern Australia but in two separate areas. The northern ones occur from near Cooktown south to Townsville, and the southern ones between Barrington Tops NSW north to the Mary River in Qld.

Unlike the Yellow Robin's clear piping calls, Pale-yellow Robins have brief, rather soft songs and other buzzing notes that are easily overlooked in the continual background of sound in the rainforest so they themselves can be easily overlooked. They live together as pairs or small family groups in permanent territories. They feed in the air more than most other robins.