About 10 cm in size the male has a metallic purple, coloured body. The female has got light yellowish underparts and the upper parts are dark greyish in colour. In non-breeding plumage the male is similar to the female but the wings are comparatively dark and a broad black stripe runs down middle of the breast.
The bird is quite common in open forests and gardens and can be seen upto an altitude of about 1600 mtrs in Himalayas. It is fond of the flower nectar but is also dependent on insects.Its slender curved bill is adapted for probing flower tubes and sucking the nectar. This way the bird helps a great deal in cross-polination.
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