It is similar to that of Lawes's parotia but modified to present the iridescent throat plumage and the flank tufts to the best effect.

Widespread and common throughout its fairly remote range, the Queen Carola's parotia is evaluated as of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Male nominate race has velvety jet-black head with coppery-bronze sheen, short erectile blackish-bronzed frontal crest tipped silver-white, jet-black elongate and vertically raised loral and foreface feathering from nostril to above eye; eye broadly encircled by iridescent coppery-gold feathering; feathering on slightly concave crown similar to that around eye, and immediately behind this a narrow nuchal bar of highly iridescent scale-like feathers that appear blue-green to purple and/or magenta; behind each eye, from amid ear-tuft of elongate narrowly pointed feathers, three long erectile wire-like occipital plumes with relatively small spatulate tips; mantle to uppertail velvety jet-black with coppery-bronze sheen, including upperwing the same except for primaries and coverts, which are brownish-black; chin dusky olive-brown, smudged blackish, with paler tips of elongate "whiskers" surrounded by malar area and throat of buff with golden sheen; lower central throat more whitish, flecked cinnamon, with fine long whiskers on each side, grading into otherwise discrete breast shield of large scale-like feathers with intense iridescence of bronzed yellow-green and/or magenta to pink (jet-black feather bases visible on lower side of shield); remaining central underparts, to undertail-coverts, blackish-brown with iridescent lustrous coppery sheen, becoming browner to dark reddish-brown adjacent to an extensive patch of cotton-white elongate and inwardly curving flank plumes; iris sulphur-yellow; bill black, mouth colour apparently pale green; legs blackish-grey.

The female is smaller than the male (notably in wing length) but with a longer tail; lacks head plumes and iridescence; plumage is very different, brownish to grey-brown head with broad supercilium, moustachial and submoustachial stripes dirty white, flecked olive-brown, some paler flecks extending onto anterior ear-coverts, malar area olive-brown, upperparts and tail brown, upperwing with ochraceous chestnut area on exposed parts of flight-feathers and outer greater coverts, chin faintly barred greyish-brown, throat paler, underparts buff with blackish-brown barring; iris pale grey or cream to yellow (difference possibly age-related), but confirmation required.

The Carola's parotia's ecology is not well studied, but from recorded data, the birds have some of the most complex leks in the avian world.