On Madagascar, this flycatcher hunts insects and spiders in forests, edges, and gardens. Males change from a red immature plumage to a white adult morph, and their central tail feathers lengthen during breeding.
Immature males are red until about age three or four, with a white wing bar. Mature males enter a white morph with a white body and tail; back color varies from black to white. Both male morphs have a glossy blue-black head and turquoise eye-ring. In breeding plumage, the central tail feathers grow to about 20 cm. Females are red and do not develop the elongated tail.
It uses dense wet or dry forest at low and middle elevations, usually below the canopy, and also visits gardens, coastal scrub, and mangrove edges. It searches for insects from a perch, then returns there after a catch; it also moves between branches with wings and tail spread to flush prey. Its food includes insects, spiders, and larvae.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.