A small short-tailed thrush-like bird. Male: Dark blue upperparts, with blackish-blue face and sides of chest. Clean white underparts with bluish wash on the vent and flanks. Resembles a male Black-throated Blue Warbler, but lacks the black throat and upper breast. Female: Rich earthy-brown upperparts, bluish rump and upper tail coverts, no wing bar. Folded flight feathers show narrow rusty edges. Often has short, pale eyebrow. White throat has some orange-buff flecking, buffy flanks, narrow and complete whitish eye ring. White belly and undertail coverts. Juvenile: Similar to adult female, but paler olive-brown above, narrow buffy supraloral stripe, wing coverts and flight feathers show broader buffy edges and also show a single weak wing bar. Sides of throat and upper breast are buffy with dark scaling, bluish-gray wash on lower flanks, remainder of underparts are white.

Length: 14 (cm) Wingspan: 21 (cm)

Habitat:

Found in coniferous forests (for breeding) and woodlands with dense undergrowth. Also inhabits bamboo thickets.

Behavior:

Skulks through undergrowth. Rapid tail-quivering is distinctive.

Feeding:

Feeds on small invertebrates and a few seeds and berries.