[2] It and the pale-headed (B. goeringi), brown (B. lugubris), and white-throated jacamars (B. albogularis) form a superspecies.

The male's upper parts, chest, and flanks are dark greenish black that appears bluish when worn.

There is also an isolated population in northern Bolívar Department, Colombia, that at one time was thought to be a subspecies.

[4] Though the dusky-backed jacamar is assumed to nest in burrows in earth banks, there is no documentation of its breeding phenology.

[1] It is scarce overall but locally common in its small range, though it "[t]olerates, or perhaps even prefers, a degree of habitat disturbance".