Birding at Andasibe

The forests around Andasibe hold over 100 bird species, with a high proportion of Madagascar endemics. For birders, this is one of the most productive sites on the island — accessible, guide-supported, and rich enough to reward multiple mornings in the same location.

Key target species include the Madagascar serpent eagle, cuckoo roller, short-legged ground roller (difficult, but present), pitta-like ground roller, and various vangas — Madagascar's own radiation of birds that fill niches occupied elsewhere by shrikes, nuthatches, and treecreepers. The velvet asity is common in the understorey and is one of the island's most visually striking endemics. Dawn walks before the heat builds are the most productive time; bird activity tapers off sharply by mid-morning. Most guides who work the park have strong birding knowledge, but ask specifically for a bird-focused guide when booking.

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A story
The velvet asity — a small, squat forest bird found only in Madagascar — has brilliant teal and green wattles around its eyes in breeding season that look almost fluorescent in the forest light. Males display in small leks, sitting motionless in the understorey while wattles pulse with colour. It was one of the last birds Charles Darwin described, and early naturalists debated whether the colour was a pigment or a structural effect; it turns out to be structural, produced by nanostructures in the skin, like a peacock's eye.

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