The paradise jacamar is 25.5 to 34 cm (10.0 to 13.4 in) long and weighs 25 to 32.5 g (0.88 to 1.15 oz). Both sexes of the nominate have a dark brown crown and are glossy black on the rest of the upper parts. They have a white throat and upper breast; the rest of the underparts are blackish. The other subspecies differ in a few ways. G. d. amazonum 's crown is lighter and the white throat more extensive, and G. d. phainopepla is similar to it. G. d. brunneiceps 's crown is lighter and its upper parts have a bronzy greenish sheen.
The paradise jacamar is found throughout most of the Amazon Basin. The subspecies are distributed thus:
The paradise jacamar mostly inhabits terra firme, várzea, and savanna forests, both primary and secondary. It is also found in dry forest and gallery forest. It is most often found along edges or in open areas such as clearings and treefalls, and rarely in the forest interior. Unusually for a jacamar, it is mostly seen in the canopy rather than the mid level. It is most often found below 500 m (1,600 ft) of elevation but locally occurs up to 1,100 m (3,600 ft).
The paradise jacamar's diet is primarily Lepidoptera, Odonata, Diptera, and Hymenoptera, but it also takes other flying insects. It perches on exposed branches by itself, in pairs, or in small groups and sallies out to catch its prey. It sometimes joins mixed-species foraging flocks in the canopy.
A pair of paradise jacamars was seen excavating a burrow in an arboreal termite nest, and pairs have often been seen near such nests. No other information about the species' breeding phenology has been recorded.
The IUCN has assessed the paradise jacamar as being of Least Concern. It varies from rare to common throughout its range and has been recorded in many protected areas. "No immediate threats are known, but general habitat destruction presumably continues to reduce populations."