This corvoid species originally dates back to the Oligocene epoch, on a series of proto-Papuan islands, with minimal known evolutionary divergences.

It is a sexually dimorphic species, with ear streak coloration being white in males and more tawny yellow in females.

[7] Ifrits inhabit montane rainforest of New Guinea, living in altitude ranges of 1,000–4,000 meters (3,280–13,123 feet) above sea level.

[3] As birds with weak flight abilities, blue-capped ifrits build nests about 1–3 meters (3–10 feet) above the ground in the branches of denser rainforest vegetation.

[8] Blue-capped ifrits are among a small group of avian species that are poisonous, the others being the little shrikethrush (Colluricincla), and several members of the former genus Pitohui, also from New Guinea.