# Asity > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Asity > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Asity.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asity > Source revision: 1354819482 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Family of birds}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Asities | image = Yellow bellied Asity12.jpg | image_caption = [Yellow-bellied sunbird-asity](/source/Yellow-bellied_sunbird-asity) | taxon = Philepittidae | authority = [Sharpe](/source/Richard_Bowdler_Sharpe), 1870 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = ''[Philepitta](/source/Philepitta)''
''[Neodrepanis](/source/Neodrepanis)'' }} The '''asities''' are a [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) of birds, '''Philepittidae''', that are [endemic](/source/Endemism) to [Madagascar](/source/Madagascar). The asities consist of four [species](/source/species) in two [genera](/source/genus). The ''Neodrepanis'' species are known as '''sunbird-asities''' and were formerly known as false sunbirds.del Hoyo, J. Elliott, A. & Christie, D. (editors). (2003) ''Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 8: Broadbills to Tapaculos''. Lynx Edicions. {{ISBN|84-87334-50-4}} ''Philepitta'' is now the type-genus of a new bird family, the Philepittidae, into which the asities of Madagascar have been placed. ==Description== Asities are small forest birds with [sexually dichromic](/source/sexual_dimorphism) [plumage](/source/plumage) and brightly coloured [wattles](/source/Wattle_(anatomy)) around the eyes of the males. These wattles, which are most conspicuous during the breeding season, get their colour from arrays of [collagen](/source/collagen) fibres.{{cite journal|author=Prum, R. O.|author2=Morrison, R. L.|author3=Ten Eyck, G. R.|name-list-style=amp|title=Structural color production by constructive reflection from ordered collagen arrays in a bird (''Philepitta castanea'': Eurylaimidae)|doi=10.1002/jmor.1052220107|pmid=29865414|year=1994|journal=Journal of Morphology|volume=222|issue=1|pages=61–72}} This method of pigmentation is unique in the animal kingdom. Several other features separate them from the broadbills, they possess twelve tail [feather](/source/feather)s on extremely short (almost non-existent in the ''Philepitta'' species) tails, their [syrinx](/source/Syrinx_(bird_anatomy)) is encased with a large bronchial ring and they have forked tongues adapted to [nectivory](/source/Nectarivore).Hawkins, F. (2003) Family Philepittidae (Asities) pp. 94-105 in del Hoyo J., Elliott A. & Christie D.A. (2003) ''[Handbook of the Birds of the World](/source/Handbook_of_the_Birds_of_the_World). Volume 8. Broadbills to Tapaculos'' Lynx Edicions, Barcelona {{ISBN|84-87334-50-4}} They have a long outer [primary](/source/flight_feather) which buzzes in flight, possibly used in signalling during courtship. The two genera are quite distinct. ==Behavior and ecology== ===Diet and feeding=== The major component of the diet of asities is [fruit](/source/fruit). A wide range of different fruit is taken by the family, and they are among the most important avian dispersers of seeds, as there are very few other [frugivorous](/source/Frugivore) birds in the forests of Madagascar. They will also take [insect](/source/insect)s. The ''Neodrepanis'' sunbird-asities will take [nectar](/source/nectar), but do so with a long tongue rather than inserting their curved bills far into flowers. ===Breeding=== Rainforest asities breed during the Malagasy [rainy season](/source/rainy_season), beginning just before the rains in September to November. The velvet asity begins breeding slightly sooner in the north of its range. That species is the only one for which detailed information about breeding is available. It has a [polygynous](/source/polygynous) breeding system, with males holding small territories or [leks](/source/Lek_(biology)) where they display to passing females. Nest building, incubation, and raising the young is done solely by the females. There are reports of male yellow-bellied sunbird-asities feeding young in the nest and recently [fledge](/source/fledge)d chicks, so there is clearly some variation in breeding strategies in the family. The nests of the family are elaborate; pear-shaped woven structures hanging from branches, similar to those of broadbills, although uniquely amongst birds which weave nests the entrance to the nest is created by pushing through the wall after constructed (instead of the usual scenario where the entrance is weaved into the fabric of the nest). ==Status and conservation== One species, the [yellow-bellied sunbird-asity](/source/yellow-bellied_sunbird-asity), is listed as [vulnerable](/source/vulnerable_species) by [BirdLife International](/source/BirdLife_International) and the [IUCN](/source/IUCN).BirdLife International (2007) [{{cite web|url=http://www.birdlife.org |title=BirdLife | Partnership for nature and people |access-date=2012-11-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5QE8rvIqH?url=http://www.birdlife.org/ |archive-date=2007-07-10 }}/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=4042&m=0 Species factsheet: ''Neodrepanis hypoxantha'']. Downloaded from {{cite web|url=http://www.birdlife.org |title=BirdLife | Partnership for nature and people |access-date=2012-11-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5QE8rvIqH?url=http://www.birdlife.org/ |archive-date=2007-07-10 }} on 16/6/2007 It was once considered to be an endangered species, and even possibly extinct; however this was due to a lack of [ornithological](/source/ornithology) surveys in its high-altitude range. Subsequent research has found it to be more abundant than previously suspected, although it is still considered threatened due to [habitat loss](/source/habitat_loss) and fragmentation. [Schlegel's asity](/source/Schlegel's_asity) is considered near threatened; it has a highly fragmented distribution but numerous strongholds in inaccessible ravines.BirdLife International (2007) [{{cite web|url=http://www.birdlife.org |title=BirdLife | Partnership for nature and people |access-date=2012-11-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5QE8rvIqH?url=http://www.birdlife.org/ |archive-date=2007-07-10 }}/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=4040&m=0 Species factsheet: ''Philepitta schlegeli'']. Downloaded from {{cite web|url=http://www.birdlife.org |title=BirdLife | Partnership for nature and people |access-date=2012-11-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5QE8rvIqH?url=http://www.birdlife.org/ |archive-date=2007-07-10 }} on 16/6/2007 ==Taxonomy and systematics== They were thought to have been related to the [pitta](/source/pitta)s, hence the scientific name of the family, but a 1993 study suggested that they are actually just a subfamily of [Eurylaimidae](/source/Eurylaimidae).{{cite journal|author=Prum, R.O. |year=1993|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v110n02/p0304-p0324.pdf |title=Phylogeny, biogeography, and evolution of the broadbills (Eurylaimidae) and asities (Philepittidae) based on morphology|journal=Auk|volume=110|issue=2|pages=304–324|jstor=4088558}} The morphology of the [syrinx](/source/syrinx) is very similar to the [Grauer's broadbill](/source/Grauer's_broadbill) of Africa. Here they are considered traditionally as a separate family. Some authors have placed the [sapayoa](/source/sapayoa) of [South America](/source/South_America) in the family, although it is now considered by many to be in its own family, the [Sapayoidae](/source/Sapayoidae). ===Species=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Image !! Genus !! Living species |- |175px||''[Philepitta](/source/Philepitta)''|| * [Velvet asity](/source/Velvet_asity), ''Philepitta castanea'' * [Schlegel's asity](/source/Schlegel's_asity), ''Philepitta schlegeli'' |- |175px||''[Neodrepanis](/source/Neodrepanis)''|| * [Common sunbird-asity](/source/Common_sunbird-asity), ''Neodrepanis coruscans'' * [Yellow-bellied sunbird-asity](/source/Yellow-bellied_sunbird-asity), ''Neodrepanis hypoxanthus'' |- |} ==References== {{Reflist|refs = {{cite book | title = Bird Families of the World |author1= Winkler, D.W. |author2=Billerman, S.M. |author3=Lovette, I.J. | year = 2015 | location = Barcelona, Spain | publisher = Lynx Edicions |pages = 275–276| isbn = 978-84-941892-0-3}} }} ==External links== *[http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/asities-philepittidae Asities videos] on the Internet Bird Collection *[http://montereybay.com/creagrus/asities.html Don Roberson's Bird Families of the World] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724172727/http://montereybay.com/creagrus/asities.html |date=2008-07-24 }} {{Taxonbar|from=Q756777}} {{Authority control}} Category:Philepittidae Category:Tyranni Category:Taxa named by Richard Bowdler Sharpe Category:Endemic birds of Madagascar --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Asity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asity) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asity?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.