- Philepitta castanea
Identification=
14–16.5cm. A plump, rounded and almost tailless bird with a short, slightly decurved bill:
Male
- Black plumage
- Greenish wattle over each eye
- Blue stripe between wattle and eye
Female
- Olive-green plumage
- Pale yellow blotches on underparts
Distribution
Endemic to the rainforest belt of eastern Madagascar.
Fairly common in its habitat.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Primary rainforest and adjacent degraded and secondary rainforest. Often in areas of open understorey in valley sides and bottoms. Most common between 600 to 1400m, scarce below or above.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet consists almost entirely of fruit (red or orange from understorey shrubs), some nectar and insects.
Forages in the canopy and lower down. Joins also mixed-species flocks.
Breeding
A polygynous species. At the dispersed leks each male has a small territory. The female builds a pear-shaped nest from moss and palm fibres, lined with leaves. The 3 white eggs are incubated by the female. Males take little or no part in incubation or care of young.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and D Christie, eds. 2003. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 8: Broadbills to Tapaculos. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334504
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved August 2016)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Velvet Asity. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Velvet_Asity
