The specific name honours the Dutch zoologist and ornithologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck, the director of the National Natural History Museum at Leiden who had sent Müller to the East Indies to collect specimens.

[4] The adult cerulean cuckooshrike is a distinctive bird and is about 30 cm (12 in) long.

The male is greyish-blue, tinged with cobalt blue on wings and tail.

It often forms small groups and is presumed to feed on insects.

The population appears to be stable, and despite its restricted range, the IUCN lists the bird as being of "least concern".