One of the few nuthatches to break the general neutral color scheme of the family, this stunner can be quite common in lowland and foothill evergreen forests. Aquamarine upperparts, crimson bill, and black patch on the forehead make this active little species unmistakable. Forages by creeping along trunks and branches, often upside down. Often moves in groups, frequently as a member of mixed-species flocks. Song is a high-pitched chittering trill; calls like isolated fragments of song.