They are insectivorous and although not migratory, may move seasonally in response to rain in hill forest regions.

The birds utter low guttural calls that can be heard only at close quarters and the birds perch still on a branch under the forest canopy, often facing away from the viewer making them easy to miss despite their colourful plumage.

The central Indian subspecies legerli, named by Walter Norman Koelz on the basis of a single specimen obtained from the foot of Mahendra Giri in Orissa is not always recognized,[7] but said to be slightly larger, longer winged and brighter than malabaricus of the Western Ghats.

[8] The nominate race found in the central wet zone of Sri Lanka is smaller and the upperparts are brighter.

The breeding season in India is mainly February to May (before the Monsoons) while it is March to June in Sri Lanka.

[11] In the forests of Sri Lanka, they are often found in mixed-species foraging flocks[12] where they may sometimes be subject to kleptoparasitism by drongos.

When foraging on bark, they propped themselves using their tail like woodpeckers, especially on decaying tree stumps.

[14] The nest is made in rotting trees or stumps that are easy to carve and pulverize using their bills.

The hatchlings are fed mainly caterpillars for the initial period and later provided bugs, flies and orthopterans.

[10] Sri Lankan birds have been seen to plunge into water from an overhanging branch to bathe.

[17] The species is becoming rarer in many parts of India and it is thought to be sensitive to forest fragmentation.

[18] Salim Ali noted it as being common in some areas of the Surat Dangs where it is now rare.

One of his records is from Ajwa in Vadodara district which is believed to be a typographical error for Ahwa further south.