It is restricted to isolated montane forests that primarily consist of the Hispaniolan pine (Pinus occidentalis).

The last sighting of the nominate subspecies was in Hardwar Gap (located on the boundary between Saint Andrew and Portland parishes), with three birds being seen on 8 June 1989.

In Hispaniola, this swallow breeds from April to July, where it lays a clutch consisting of two to four white eggs.

The golden swallow was first described as Hirundo euchrysea by English naturalist Henry Gosse, in his 1847 book The Birds of Jamaica,[2] many years after European settlement of the island.

Tachycineta is from takhukinetos, "moving quickly", and the specific euchrysea is from eukhrusos, meaning "rich in gold".

[6] It was finally described as Hirundo sclateri in 1884 by American ornithologist Charles Cory,[7] who felt it distinct enough to warrant separate species status.

The adult of the nominate subspecies' upperparts, including the sides of the head, the cheek, and the chin, are an iridescent bronze.

This contrasts with the golden or coppery-bronze colouring of the mantle, shoulders, back, rump, and uppertail-coverts.

The female is similar, although some of the underparts, specifically the breast and occasionally the throat and undertail-coverts, are mottled grey-brown.

The plumage is less golden, with the forehead and uppertail-coverts being blue-green, and with both the wings and tail being blue-black.

[1] Primarily inhabiting hills of the interior of islands, this swallow prefers open country, but will occasionally be seen in forests and over towns.

[12] Never common in Jamaica, it was restricted to mountainous limestone country in the island's interior.

[12] This species is an aerial insectivore,[11] usually feeding on flies, Hemiptera (or true bugs), and various other insects.

Generally, the golden swallow starts to forage at dawn, with activity increasing in the morning and decreasing during the afternoon.

[12] The golden swallow is victim to various mammalian nest predators, including the introduced small Indian mongoose, feral cats, and multiple species of rats.

[3] The remaining T. e. sclateri population is declining, mostly due to shifting agriculture and predation by introduced mammalian species.

[1] Not known to the early settlers on the island,[3] it was considered to be common in the 1800s, but it declined and eventually became rare in the 1890s.

[15] The last specimens collected were a pair from Portland Parish on 9 August 1908; the last confirmed sighting was in the Blue Mountains in 1950.

[3] Curator of Birds Gary R. Graves of the Smithsonian Institution spent 18 years scouring the island for evidence of the subspecies without success.

The exact cause of the extinction is unknown, but predation by introduced mammals, especially the black rat and the Indian mongoose, is thought to be a factor.

[12] It is proposed that nest boxes be used to counter habitat loss and predation in Hispaniola.