Velvet asity explained

The velvet asity (Philepitta castanea) is a species of bird in the family Philepittidae. It is endemic to Madagascar.

Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests .

Male P. castanea have yellow tips to its feathers when newly molted, but these wear off, leaving the bird all black; at the same time, a green wattle grows above the eye. The female is greenish.^[1] Velvet asities eat berries and other fruit in undergrowth, including gastonia duplicata.^[2] They build hanging nests with a little roof over the entrance. They tend to be sedentary.^[3]

References

• https://www.britannica.com/animal/asity#ref129199

Notes and References

1. Web site: asity bird. 2016-08-04.
2. Bashaw, Thaddeus. "The Role of Frugivorous Birds as Seed Dispersers: Feeding Selection and Preference of Madagascar’s Avian Frugivores in Analamazaotra Forest." (2022).
3. Barbon . Hannah . Berthoud . Jean-Louis . Woog . Friederike . Musa . Sandrine . 2023-11-10 . Haemosporidian parasite infections of Malagasy Philepittidae and Nectariniidae are driven by phylogeny rather than ecology . Parasitology . 150 . 14 . 1316–1329 . 10.1017/s0031182023001075 . 0031-1820. 10941219 .