The IOC considers it to be monotypic but HBW assigns it two subspecies, P. e. emma and P. e. auricularis.

Adults have a blue crown, a plum-red face, a gray-brown nape, and whitish ear coverts.

Their bill is dusky and their eyes orange to yellow with bare dark gray skin surrounding them.

[1] It inhabits the interior and edges of humid and wet forest and also clearings with scattered trees.

In elevation it primarily ranges between 250 and 1,700 m (800 and 5,600 ft) but is found down to sea level in Sucre.

It usually travels in flocks of up to about 30 individuals, and has been recorded feeding on fruits, flowers, and nectar.

"Trapping for trade and land-use changes may be driving a decline in the population, although neither of these threats are regarded as serious for this species at present.