In the 1886 description from Bima on Sumbawa, the male had a green-blue sheen on its black head and throat, with red-orange on the breast and part of the wing. A 1993 survey recorded the bird in forests on Flores and Sumbawa and reported that Flores males looked darker.
The 1886 description from Bima, Sumbawa, says an adult male had a green-blue sheen on its black head and throat, with red-orange on the breast and part of the wing. In the female from the same locality, areas that were black in the male were smoky brown.
A 1993 field survey recorded this minivet in semi-evergreen rainforest, moist deciduous monsoon forest, and riverine forest. In that survey it was found most often in open forest with some large trees and a sparse understory.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.