The juvenile plumage is unknown, but in most snipe species, young birds differ from adults only in showing pale fringes on the wing coverts.

In flight, the imperial snipe looks heavy, broad-winged and short-tailed, and the banded belly contrasts with the dark breast and underwing.

The imperial snipe occurs around the tree-line at 2,745–3,700 m (9,006–12,139 ft) altitude in mosaic habitats consisting of a mixture of bogs, mossy areas, moist elfin forest, tree-ferns and tall grass.

The dawn and dusk aerial display involves flying high in circles performing the extremely loud song.

Having been considered extinct for over half a century, the imperial snipe has now been found at least six sites in Peru and twelve in Ecuador.