This coucal lives in lowland wet forest in southwestern Sri Lanka. Its black plumage has a blue-purple sheen, and its wings are chestnut.
The body is black with a blue-purple sheen. The wings are chestnut, and the bill is pale green. Its eyes are red to reddish brown, and males and females look alike.
It uses dense undergrowth and bamboo in wet forest, feeding on insects, spiders, frogs, lizards, and fruit.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.