Distinctive, oddly proportioned bird, with a small head and long needle-like bill. Green above and rusty below, with blue cheeks. The amount of black on the yellow bill is variable. Usually seen sitting quietly in the lower levels of humid forest and sometimes seasonally flooded forests, where it captures prey by flycatching. Sings a high-pitched “peea peea-pee-pee-te-t-t-e’e’e’e’e’e” that accelerates gradually and ends with a rattling trill.