Adult males' most obvious feature is the wide orange-chestnut collar that encircles the neck and includes the upper breast, chin, throat, and most of the face.

The rest of its plumage is sooty black, at times with a few white feathers on the breast below the collar.

Immatures resemble adults with the addition of pale gray edges to the underparts' feathers.

[4][6] The tepui swift is thought to be a year-round resident in its range but reports from elsewhere hint at the possibility that it is migratory.

The early September nest was a cup of rootlets and moss on a rock shelf in a cave.

[4] The IUCN has assessed the tepui swift as being of Least Concern, though its population size is unknown and believed to be decreasing.