The Pale-headed Jacamar inhabits open woodland in north-western South America. It watches for flying insects from a perch and darts out to catch them.
The adult male has an ash-brown crown and upper mantle. Its remaining upperparts, wings and tail are dark brown with a green sheen; it has a pale eyebrow and whitish throat, a broad grey-brown breast band, and a chestnut patch on the upper belly. The female is similar.
It usually watches for passing insects from a bare, high branch. It darts after prey and often returns to its perch to eat.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.