A very beautiful bird, more upright in stance than the India Blue. The overall coloration of metallic green feathers tipped with black, give the appearance of scales. The crest of this species stands nearly erect compared to the broad crest of its Indian relative; bare skin of blue and yellow beneath the eye, dark bluish-green metallic feathers on the remainder of the head and neck. The wing coverts are dark green and blue, with the flight feathers chestnut. The tail is similar to the India Blue, but is somewhat darker at the base and has a golden sheen throughout the train. There is slight variation between the subspecies: muticus is the brightest green of the three with bright iridescent blue and green wing coverts; spificer is much duller and there is more blue in the plumage than muticus and imperator; imperator is similar to muticus, but can be distinguished by having darker flanks, abdomen and secondaries and much lighter facial skin.
