It is a migratory insectivorous species breeding in wet birch wood or bushy swamp in Europe and across the Palearctic with a foothold in western Alaska.

It winters in the Iberian Peninsula, the northern half of Africa, and in southern Asia (among others including the Indian subcontinent).

Despite the distinctive appearance of the males, recent genetic studies show only limited variation between the forms, and confirm that this is a single species.

These tips then abrade in late winter and early spring to reveal the brigher bases of the feathers.

[6] Females of all subspecies usually have just a blackish crescent and very limited blue on an otherwise cream throat and breast, though older individuals can develop more strongly male-like plumage.