A dark greenish-blue bird with a red bill and pale patches on its wings in flight.
The head is dark brown and the body deep greenish-blue, with a red bill and legs. White patches on the wings are conspicuous in flight.
In Japan it is a summer visitor to Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu and breeds near low mountain forest. A nest study in Sakae, Nagano, found that insects made up most of the food delivered to nestlings.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.