Its uppersides and wings are dark brown with rufous and buff spots and speckles.

It inhabits humid montane cloudforest, in at least Ecuador and Peru at elevations between 1,500 and 3,450 m (4,900 and 11,000 ft).

[5] The rufous-bellied nighthawk feeds on the wing; though its diet has not been studied it is assumed to be insects.

It is assumed to be similar to that of its congener, the short-tailed nighthawk, which lays its one egg directly on a horizontal branch.

The rufous-bellied nighthawk's song, "a rapidly delivered series of notes that gradually descend in pitch, e.g., kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-ko", is given both in flight and while perched.