Described by Erik Matthysen in his 1998 treatise "The Nuthatches" as a bird that "deserves its name", the beautiful nuthatch has highly distinctive plumage. Its upperparts are black and azure, and it is orange on the underparts. The crown and upper mantle are black, streaked with pale blue and white. The scapulars, back and rump are an azure blue. The greater and medium coverts are black, finely edged with white, forming two narrow ; the flight feathers are black and more or less lined with pale blue. The eyebrow and throat are white and buff and the eye is highlighted by an irregular, dark eyestripe. Under the wing, the white base of the contrasts sharply with gray ; a distinguishing trait when viewing the bird in flight. The iris is reddish-brown or dark brown and the bill is black but for a whitish tinge at the base of the . The lower parts are generally orange-cinnamon. The legs and feet are yellowish-brown, olive-brown or greenish-brown.