[3] The International Ornithological Committee (IOC), the Clements taxonomy, and the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society (SACC) recognize three subspecies of red-necked aracari:[3][4][5] BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World treats subspecies P. b. sturmii as a separate species, the "western red-necked araçari", and the other two subspecies as the "eastern red-necked araçari".

Adult females have a browner crown, a lighter face and throat, and a narrower yellow band above the breast than males.

The "teeth" on the maxilla are less apparent and the mandible is all black except for an orange-yellow band at its base and a pale tip.

[9] The red-necked aracari forages from the forest mid level to the canopy, alone, in pairs, or in a small group.

[9] The red-necked aracari's breeding season in much of its range spans from February to August but in some areas is April to September and in Bolivia is from July to December.

"[9] The IUCN follows HBW taxonomy and so has assessed the "western" and "eastern" red-necked aracaris separately.