[2] It and the rufous-tailed (Galbula ruficauda), white-chinned (G. tombacea), bluish-fronted (G. cyanescens), and green-tailed jacamars (G. glabula) are considered to form a superspecies.

The throat and breast are shiny green and the belly and vent area are dark rufous.

[3] The coppery-chested jacamar is effectively endemic to Ecuador, though there are records from a single site in each of far southern Colombia and far northern Peru.

It is a bird of the understory, being found along forest edges, along watercourses, and at tree falls and landslides that provide openings.

[3] The coppery-chested jacamar's song is "a rising series of wee notes, sometimes ending in a descending rattle" [1].