Male: blue plumage; brown wings and tail; pale fulvous and black scales more conspicuous in winter; belly whiter in winter. Female: duller, greybrown above; dark shaft-streaks; black barring on rump; dull white below, barred brown. Solitary; has favoured sites, often around habitation; perches on rocks, stumps, roof tops; has a rather upright posture; flies on to ground to feed, but sometimes launches short aerial sallies.