[4] Vieillot based his account on "L'hirondelle à front roux" from South Africa that had been described and illustrated in 1806 by François Levaillant.

The twittering song of the brown-throated martin is continuous when the birds are on the wing, and becomes a conversational undertone after they have settled in the roost.

Its brown back, small size and quicker, jerkier flight separate the brown-throated martin at once from most other members of the swallow family.

The brown-throated martin is colonial in its nesting habits, with many pairs breeding close together, according to available space.

The food of this species consists of small insects, mostly gnats and other flies whose early stages are aquatic.