Brilliantly colored and long-tailed inhabitant of the forest canopy. Males are bright red and black, and females are gray and yellow. Both sexes are very similar to their counterparts in other red-and-black minivet species. Males have a simple pattern on the wing that resembles a “V” or a lightning bolt; lacks the extra blotches of the slightly larger Scarlet Minivet. Females have less gray on the head than the females of the otherwise identically colored Long-tailed and Gray-chinned Minivets. Typically intermediate in altitude between Long-tailed and Scarlet Minivets. Gives high thin whistles.