Ficedula sapphira : 11 cm in length and 10 g in weight. The male has blue or cobalt blue over feathers on the forehead, crown, pillow, waist and tail, black frontal, eye and eye stripes, dark purple or dark blue on the side of the head, hind neck, back, and shoulders, black tail, blue or dark blue on the margins of the outer feathers, black brown for both winged coverts and inner flight feathers, blue or dark blue for the feather margins, tan or dark blue for the outer flying feathers and primary coverts, and dark blue for the feather margins. The chin, throat, and upper thorax are orange-brown or white, and the head, neck, and thorax are dark blue or bluish-black, extending from the lower chest to the middle of the chest, and the two sides meet several times in the middle of the lower chest to form a chest band. The rest of the underparts below the thorax are pale blue-off-white or white, some are slightly stained brown, and the axillary feathers and subtail coverts are white. Females have grey olive or olive tan upperparts, brown forehead and waist, bright brown or rust red caudal coverts, brown or black brown tail feathers, and brown outer feather margins. The eyes and eye circles are brownish white, the inner coverts on the wings are the same color as the back, the large coverts have a brown tip, the primary coverts and flight feathers are black brown, and the feathers are the same color as the back. The sides of the head , neck , and thorax are also the same as the dorsal but slightly pale , the chin , throat , and thorax are orange-brown or brownish-white , and the rest of the underparts are white or grayish brown. The upperparts of the 1st instar male are olive-brown, and the upper coverts of the waist and tail are cobalt blue. The throat and thorax are orange-brown and the abdomen is white. The tail is black, the feathers are glow blue, the wings are blue-black, and the inner flight feathers are blue. The iris is blue or brown, the mouth is black, and the feet are dark brown.
There are three subspecies distributions in China: the Tianquan subspecies is a resident bird, found in the southern slopes of the Qinling Mountains from southern Gansu via western Sichuan to southern Shaanxi. The nominate subspecies are resident birds in southeastern Tibet, southern Sichuan and Yunnan. The Lao subspecies is found in western Yunnan. Usually a rare bird.
It inhabits evergreen broad-leaved forests, oak forests and secondary forests below 2000 m above sea level, mainly in hilly forests at altitudes of 900-2000 m. Resident birds. Often alone or in pairs. There are many large tall branches and young tree tops, frequently flying into the air to prey on flying insects, but also large canopy and understory young trees with tall shrub branches and leaves active and foraging. Arboreality. It feeds mainly on insects and insect larvae such as Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, hymenoptera and other insects.
The breeding period is from May to June. Nests are nested in pits or tree holes on steep banks, as well as in dead tree holes. The nest is cup-shaped, mainly composed of moss, with a thin whisker root on the inner pad. Each clutch usually lays 4 eggs, but there are also 3 eggs. There are mainly female birds incubating eggs, and the chicks are late in adulthood and are fed by male and female parent birds.