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

Velvet asity
Male
Female
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Philepittidae
Genus: Philepitta
Species:
P. castanea
Binomial name
Philepitta castanea
(Müller, 1776)

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.[2]

Velvet asities eat berries and other fruit in undergrowth, including gastonia duplicata.[3] They build hanging nests with a little roof over the entrance. They tend to be sedentary.[4]

References

edit
  1. ^ BirdLife International (2018). "Philepitta castanea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22698763A130195996. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22698763A130195996.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ "asity | bird". Retrieved 2016-08-04.
  3. ^ Bashaw, Thaddeus. "The Role of Frugivorous Birds as Seed Dispersers: Feeding Selection and Preference of Madagascar’s Avian Frugivores in Analamazaotra Forest." (2022).
  4. ^ 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. doi:10.1017/s0031182023001075. ISSN 0031-1820. PMC 10941219.
edit