A large toucan of humid Andean forests, it searches among high trees for fruit and lives at elevations above those of most toucans.
The head and face are black, the back greenish brown, and the underparts dark blue-gray. Its large yellowish bill has a red tip, and the rump is bright yellow. The sexes have similar plumage, though females have shorter bills.
It eats mostly fruit and forages among tall canopy trees. It is seen alone or in pairs and may also join mixed-species flocks.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.