 Only a very few corvids, including the black-billed magpie, the red-billed blue magpie and the closely related white-throated magpie-jay, have a comparable tail length.The upperparts are blue with white tips to the tail feathers; the underparts are white.The bill, legs, head, and conspicuous crest are black except for a pale blue crescent over the eyes and a patch under the eye.