The rusty-belted tapaculo is genetically most closely related to the spotted bamboowren (Psilorhamphus guttatus).

Subspecies L. t. dugandi is also similar to the nominate, but the breast band is rufous and extends into the neck and throat.

Its song is an "easily imitated whistled note...repeated at intervals...[ending in a] descending series" [1].

It is primarily found in humid terra firme forest, whose ground is dry year-round, but also inhabits várzea, which is seasonally flooded.

It forages by walking and hopping on the forest floor, picking the bugs from atop the litter, and also feeds along fallen tree trunks.

Only one nest has been found; it was spherical, made of twigs, grass, and other materials, and on the ground among the roots of a small tree.