BIRDGACHA / FIELD NOTES

Asities

Asities are small Madagascar birds whose males can show striking coloured skin around the eyes. The family includes short-billed fruit-eating asities and slender-billed sunbird-asities, creating a notable contrast in feeding structure. Examples include Schlegel's Asity (Philepitta schlegeli), Common Sunbird-Asity (Neodrepanis coruscans), and Velvet Asity (Philepitta castanea). Females are generally less conspicuous than adult males. Fruit and nectar contribute differently among the members, with small invertebrates also taken. The eye ornaments can be vivid during breeding, while bill shape gives a more consistent clue to whether a bird belongs to the fruit-focused or flower-visiting part of the family.

How to recognize Asities

Bill: short fruit-handling or long curved bills.
Outline: small bodies with distinctive male eye ornaments.
Feeding: taking fruit, nectar and small invertebrates.

Where they live

Madagascar's forests contain the entire natural range, with members occupying different climatic and elevational zones. Humid eastern forest supports several species, while Schlegel's Asity is associated with drier western forest regions. Flowering and fruiting plants supply key foods at different times. Mountain sunbird-asities and lowland forest asities consequently require separate habitat descriptions, rather than being presented as birds that occur together wherever forest remains on the island.

Species accounts: Schlegel's Asity · Common Sunbird-Asity · Velvet Asity

Sources — natural history: Wikipedia: Asities natural history · Cornell Birds of the World: Schlegel's Asity species account · Don Roberson: Asities field observations and natural history.

Classification: IOC World Bird List: family names and classification.

Some Cornell Birds of the World account sections require a subscription.

Updated 2026-11-06. Species counts follow this site's catalogue. This is an editorial summary, not an expert peer review.