Their bill's maxilla is mostly yellow with some green on the culmen and a black triangle at its base.

The plumage is almost identical to that of the "chestnut-mandibled" subspecies of yellow-throated toucan (R. a. swainsonii), with which there is a range overlap, but their voices separate them.

[4] As suggested by its common name, the Choco toucan is restricted to the humid Chocó region from northwestern Colombia to southwestern Ecuador.

[4] The Choco toucan does not have a migratory pattern, but pairs and groups move up- and downslope while foraging.

[4] The Choco toucan's breeding season appears to be mostly between June and August though it might begin much earlier in Colombia.

[1] It is considered uncommon to locally common in Ecuador, and occurs in at least one protected area in each of that country and Colombia.

It "[r]equires study in order to determine its requirements, and to ascertain whether its present conservation status needs to be reassessed.