The red-bellied trogon is a crimson and dark chestnut trogon. It has an orange-yellow eyebrow pattern; the central tail feathers are black. The outer tail feathers of the wedge tail are crimson on the ventral side as a distinguishing feature.
The red-bellied trogon often moves alone or in pairs; it is arboreal, either climbing on the top branches of small trees to eat wild fruits, or standing quietly on the branches waiting for an opportunity to pounce on flying insects, and occasionally following flying insects. It has poor flying ability, and although it is fast, it does not go far, and it comes and goes very quietly. It is mainly insectivorous (moths, all types of stick insects, caterpillars, locusts), decorating the nest with grass leaves and seeds, and feeding on flying insects or berries and larger seeds on trees.
The red-bellied trogon does not like to call; the general call is a loud and fast-moving round klew sound, and the pitch decreases as the call speed increases, which is completely different from the call of the red-headed trogon. The alarm call is a whirr-ur sound.
The breeding season is about March-April. Reproduction data is still lacking. The male specimen collected on April 5 had fully mature testicles, and the female bird's oviduct was enlarged, showing signs of egg-laying.