Tickell's blue flycatcher - Resident breeder in Sri Lanka

Tickell's blue flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae) is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family. This is an insectivorous species which breeds in tropical Asia, from the Indian Subcontinent eastwards to Southeast Asia. Its range stretches across all the countries from India to Indonesia. They are blue on the upperparts and the throat and breast are rufous. They are found in dense scrub to forest habitats.

The name commemorates the British ornithologist Samuel Tickell who collected in India and Burma.

ickell's blue flycatcher is about 11–12 cm long. It sits upright and forages mainly in the overgrowth. The male's upper parts are bright blue, its throat and breast are red, and the rest of the underparts are white. The female is duller blue with a brighter blue brow, shoulder, rump, and tail. It hybridizes with the pale-chinned blue flycatcher (Cyornis poliogenys) in the Eastern Ghats of India and these hybrids have sometimes been called the subspecies vernayi. The juvenile is streaked and has a spotted mantle, scaly brown upper parts, head and breast, with just the wings and tail being blue.

They have sometimes been known to feed even after dusk. Apart from flying insects they have been noted to occasionally glean crawling insects. The widespread species shows regional variations in plumage and size and several of these populations have been designated with subspecies names. The nominate form is found in India, Nepal and Myanmar. The Sri Lankan population is separated as jerdoni (or nesea/mesaea said to be darker) and the population in Thailand and southern Myanmar is named as indochina. Further south is the form sumatrensis (Sumatra Island, Malaysia) and lamprus on Anamba Island.

In the past this species has been considered as a subspecies of the blue-throated blue flycatcher (Cyornis rubeculoides) which resembles this but has a blue throat.

Tickell's blue flycatcher breeds in dry forest, scrub, bamboo and gardens.

The metallic song of the bird includes a series of clicks followed by five or six notes that end abruptly. The metallic song consists of short clicks followed by five or six notes resembling that of the white-browed fantail-flycatcher. Alarm calls include churr and clicking notes. It is a wary bird and not always easily observed. It is a forest-loving species which is found in thick cover and shade, and particularly haunts the banks of wooded streams.

They feed mainly by capturing insects in flight but their prey include other insects such as termites and earwigs that may be gleaned or picked from the ground^.

The breeding season is April to August (March to June in Sri Lanka). It nests in a hole in a tree or amongst rocks that is lined with fine grass and fibres and lay 3–5 eggs.

Captured @ Wilpattu National Park....

The Common Emerald dove - Resident breeder in Sri Lanka.

The common emerald dove (Chalcophaps indica) is a pigeon which is a widespread resident breeding bird in the tropical and sub-tropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent and east through Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia, to northern and eastern Australia. The dove is also known by the names of green dove and green-winged pigeon. The common emerald dove is the state bird of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

The common emerald dove is a stocky, medium-sized pigeon, typically 23 to 28 centimeters (10 to 11.2 inches) in length. The back and wings are bright emerald green. The flight feathers and tail are blackish, and broad black and white bars show on the lower back in flight. The head and underparts are dark vinous pink (in chrysochlora, more brown in longirostris), fading to greyish on the lower belly. The eyes are dark brown, the bill bright red and legs and feet rufous.

The male has a white patch on the edge of the shoulders and a grey crown, which the female lacks. Females will tend to have a browner complexion with a grey mark on the shoulder. Immature birds resemble females but have brown scallops on their body and wing plumage.

Emerald doves usually occur singly, pairs or in small groups. They are quite terrestrial, often searching for fallen fruit on the ground and spending little time in trees except when roosting. They eat seeds and fruits of a wide variety of plants and are generally tame and approachable.

The call is a low soft moaning cooing consisting of about six to seven coos starting quietly and rising. They also call a nasal "hoo-hoo-hoon". Males perform a bobbing dance during courtship.

Captured @ Wilpattu National Park