The Variable Oriole occurs from eastern and southeastern Brazil through Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay to northern Argentina. It uses woodland, scrub, and gardens.
The body is mostly black. A shoulder patch formed by the upper wing-coverts ranges from yellow to ochre among regional forms.
It uses woodland, thorny scrub, and gardens, and eats insects and nectar. It weaves a long hanging basket nest from plant fibres and suspends it from branches or palm and banana leaves.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.