Lithornis hookeri was a very small lithornithid, one of the volant palaeognathous birds that formed part of the early Cenozoic terrestrial bird fauna. Modern authors often write the combination as ?Lithornis hookeri because its assignment to Lithornis is less secure than that of better represented species.

Lithornithids were capable fliers but had long legs suited to walking and foraging on the ground. A diet of small invertebrates and other readily collected foods is plausible, although direct dietary evidence for L. hookeri is lacking. The fragmentary nature of the material makes ecological and taxonomic restraint especially important.