It occurs in montane forests of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. The species-level name used here is Southern Emerald Toucanet; White-throated may refer only to the white-throated nominate subspecies and should not be generalized to every form.
Adults are mostly green, with a black-and-yellow bill and a broad white line at its base. The tail tips and undertail-coverts are chestnut. Throat color varies among subspecies from white to gray or blue-gray.
It is active in the upper vegetation and may move in single file behind a leader. Fruit makes up most of its diet; in Colombia, birds have also been observed following army-ant columns.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.