Breeding adult male is royal blue with a white belly and orange throat and chest. Brown female is dull and potentially confusing, but note pale orange throat, rufous uppertail, and overall small stout appearance. Non-breeding and immature males are similar to females, but have blue wings and back. Breeds in moist broadleaf evergreen montane forest; descends into open forest and forest edge in the winter. Forages at middle levels, often with mixed-species flocks. Song is a brief series of high thin notes followed by a clicking rattle.