A pitta with a reddish-brown head and body and a blue rump, living quietly in forest.
The head and underparts are rusty brown, with a blue rump. In males, the turquoise nape patch reaches the rear crown in the nominate subspecies but is confined to the nape in subspecies hendeei; females have a greener nape.
It stays unobtrusively in forest, often near streams, and feeds mainly on arthropods and earthworms. Its two-note song may be repeated at long intervals.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.