The ears are white, slightly tufted and only moderately prominent. Silver gray or goldish tints may exist on the back and flanks, and the base of the tail. A reddish-brown gland is visible at the base of the throat in males. P. v. verreauxi is impossible to confuse with other lemurs in its range. It has the widest distribution of the four P. verreauxi subspecies, and indeed of all Propithecus taxa.
Females appear to be dominant over males.
Home ranges may be 10 ha or more, but are often very much smaller. The diet of P. v. verreauxi consists principally of leaves, fruit and flowers, but is highly variable seasonally. The ability of this species to leap from trunk to trunk on members of the catus-like Didiereaceae plant family such as Alluaudia ascendens , is one of the most spectacular wildlife phenomena of Madagascar. These trees are covered with very hard, very sharp spines, yet the sifakas are able to leap among them with abandon, without injuring themselves. How this is actually accomplished remains to be studied, but it is one of the most spectacular lemur behavior patterns.