[2] Asities are small forest birds with sexually dichromic plumage and brightly coloured wattles around the eyes of the males.

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 birds in the forests of Madagascar.

It has a polygynous breeding system, with males holding small territories or leks where they display to passing females.

There are reports of male yellow-bellied sunbird-asities feeding young in the nest and recently fledged chicks, so there is clearly some variation in breeding strategies in the family.

Subsequent research has found it to be more abundant than previously suspected, although it is still considered threatened due to habitat loss and fragmentation.