A medium-sized hermit hummingbird, it is generally brownish with a greenish back and ochraceous underparts and has a black "mask," white supercilium, malar stripe, and a dark brown throat.

[7] The dusky-throated hermit is found in southeastern Brazil, mostly from southern Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo south to Santa Catarina, and also in the Iguazu Falls area of western Paraná.

It inhabits the understory of humid primary and secondary forests from the littoral zone to an elevation of 2,250 m (7,400 ft).

[7] The dusky-throated hermit feeds on nectar and also on small arthropods, but details of its diet and foraging technique have not been published.

The female alone incubates a clutch size of two eggs within its cone-shaped cup nest suspended from the underside of a drooping leaf.