It inhabits mature montane forest, edges of clearings, shade coffee and abandoned plantations and regenerating forest less than 15 m tall. On Tobago males lek all year round but there is a pronounced breeding season during February to April (Hayes et al. 2000).

Campylopterus ensipennis is restricted to the Turimiquire Massif (at 760-1,830 m) and Paria Peninsula (at 400-1,200 m) in north-east Venezuela, and the Main Ridge down to 100 m on Tobago (Trinidad and Tobago) (Hayes 1996, F. E. Hayes in litt. 1998, 1999). In Venezuela, it is relatively common in shade coffee plantations on Cerro Negro and other parts of the Cordillera de Caripe, as well as in the Serranía del Turimiquire (Boesman and Curson 1995, Colvee 1999, C. J. Sharpe in litt. 2016). On the Paria peninsula it is also common, with 1.5 pairs/ha estimated on Cerro El Olvido in 1988 and 0.2 males/ha recorded in primary forest and 4.5 males/ha in shade coffee plantations on Cerro Humo in 1993 (Bond et al. 1989, Evans et al. 1994, C. J. Sharpe in litt. 2011, 2016). On Tobago, it is recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Flora in 1963, but remains absent from the south-west (Hillsborough Reservoir) and north-east (Pigeon Peak) portions of its former range (F. E. Hayes in litt. 1998, 1999). Recent surveys suggest that there are between several hundred and in excess of 1,000 individuals on Tobago (Hayes 1996).

Conservation Actions Underway
CITES Appendix II. In Venezuela, it is formally protected by Paria Peninsula and El Guácharo National Parks (recently expanded to include a further 500 km² of largely undisturbed forest [F. E. Hayes in litt. 1998, 1999]) and, in Tobago, occurs within the proposed Main Ridge National Park. On Tobago, it is the subject of a conservation/education initiative by the Tobago Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and RARE Center. It has been the subject of a long-term (Caribbean Union College and University of the West Indies) ecological study (Hayes et al. 2000). The species is listed as Near Threatened at the national level in Venezuela (Rodríguez et al. 2015).

Conservation Actions Proposed
Quantify and monitor the population size and trend. Ensure protection of the national parks where it occurs. Designate a protected area around the mountain known as Quiriquire or Piedra 'e Mole' to protect the largest remaining forest block in the Serranía del Turimiquire (C. J. Sharpe in litt. 2016). Continue the conservation and education initiative on Tobago and consider a similar scheme in Venezuela.