Adult Male:
The entire head and neck, upper breast, and back, including the exposed parts of the wings and tail, are iridescent violet-red. The inner webs of the tail feathers are black. The lateral tail feathers have white barring on both feather webs. The remaining underside is white with violet or steel-green iridescence. The eyes are red. The eyelids are green with a red edge. The beak is bright yellow. The legs are pale yellow-green.
Adult Female:
The back is green with a pale bronze sheen; the crown is slightly darker, occasionally with some white on the forehead. The wing feathers have oblique brown-tinged white streaks on approximately two-thirds of the inner web. The tail feathers, except for the central pair, are brown with white tips and a black band near the tip, along with numerous black and white markings in the middle portion of the feather. The underside, the sides of the head, and the neck are white with pale bronze-tinged brown barring. The barring on the chin and throat is narrow, becoming wider towards the chest. The beak is pale yellow; the culmen (upper ridge of the beak) and the base of the beak are darker.
Juvenile:
The back is marked with reddish-brown and brown streaks. The underside is white with brown streaks. In newly fledged juveniles, the neck and head have longitudinal streaks but lack transverse barring.
Measurements:
- Wing: 95 – 105 mm
- Tail: 64 – 72 mm
- Tarsus (leg): 14 – 15 mm
- Bill (beak): 16 – 17 mm
Distribution:
This species is found in Assam, Bengal, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and nearby islands, including Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and the Philippines.
Vietnam:
This species is present in the deep forests of the South Central Coast and the South of Vietnam.