Male has blue green caruncles on a dark head, with yellow underparts and green wings. Female has pale green back, yellowish green plumage with pale-yellow blotches on underparts. Birds mass about 40g.
Primarily frugivorous with some nectar feeding. (Goodman 1996)
Males molt twice a year with a breeding plumage and a non-breeding plumage. Young males delay definite breeding plumage and show female plumage even while mature. The mating system has been variously described as pair-bonded and lek based. (Prum 1997)
Goodman SM, Putnam MS, 1996, "The birds of the eastern slope of the Reserve Naturalle Intégrale d'Andringitra", Fieldiana: Zoology, new series No. 85
IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre, viewed in July 2000, "Threatened Animals of the World", IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals
Langrand, Olivier; 1990: Guide to the Birds of Madagascar, Yale University Press
Prum RO, Razafindratsita VR; 1997 "Lek behavior and natural history of the Velvet Asity (Philepitta castenea: Eurylaimidae)", Wilson Bulletin, 109:(3) 371-392
Sinclair, I & Langrand, O.; 1998: Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands, Struik