The Jamaican tody was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.

[8] The Jamaican tody is now one of five species placed in the genus Todus that was introduced in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson.

[2][10] They look very similar to the Puerto Rican tody (Todus mexicanus) but have a whitish breast that is blended with green, becoming even slightly yellow on the abdomen and under the tail-coverts.

[2] Jamaican todies are very quiet birds during nonbreeding months but can be heard more frequently during the spring and summer.

[2] The Jamaican tody is most visible during the spring and summer months, and are much more silent and easy to find during the fall and winter.

[2] They also perform bill-wiping, where they will clean both sides of their beak, from base to tip, especially after eating or preening and fluffing their feathers.

[2] Todies also preen their feathers with their flat bills and this mainly occurs in their breast and wing areas on their body.

[2] In one observation of Jamaican tody copulation, the male chased the female a short distance and once she landed, he swooped down on her and held her crown while performing 29 cloacal contacts in the span of 35 seconds.

[2][14] Their eggs are laid in unlined chambers near the end of their burrows, which are holes created in the soil on top of the hard, limestone habitats.

[2] While the burrows are generally occupied by todies, other species can sometimes be found inhabiting their homes such as spiders, field mice and lizards.

[2] The method of drinking for the Jamaican tody has not been observed but it is assumed that they get most of their water from leaf droplets and food they consume.

[2] A large number of avian habitats in Jamaica are being altered by humans for both settlement as well as farming purposes.