[3] The black-necked aracari was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.

[5][6] The black-necked aracari is now placed in genus Pteroglossus that was introduced in 1811 by the German zoologist Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger.

Adults of the nominate subspecies have a black head, neck, and throat with chestnut-black ear coverts.

[11] Subspecies P. a. atricollis has a wider brown culmen stripe on the bill than the nominate, red-brown ear coverts, and cinnamon-rusty thighs.

P. a. wiedii's culmen stripe is slightly wider than the nominate's and it has chestnut ear coverts, chin, and upper throat instead of black.

In elevation it mostly occurs from sea level to about 600 m (2,000 ft) but is found higher in Venezuela and the southeastern part of its range.

[11] The black-necked aracari forages in the forest's upper level and the canopy, often in a group of up to six that might be an extended family.

[11] The black-necked aracari's breeding season is from November to August in most of its range but spans September to February in the south.