asity, either of two species of short-tailed, 15-centimetre- (6-inch-) long birds of the family Philepittidae (order Passeriformes), inhabiting forests of Madagascar. The male of the velvet asity (Philepitta castanea) has 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. The male of Schlegel’s asity (P. schlegeli) is yellow after molt, except for its black crown, and the wattle extends around the eye. Velvet asities eat berries and other fruit in undergrowth, and they build hanging nests with a little roof over the entrance.