White-browed bulbul - Resident Breeder in Sri Lanka

The White-browed Bulbul ( Pycnonotus luteolus) is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is a resident breeder in Sri Lankaand peninsular India. Largely olive coloured above with whitish underparts, it has a pale supercilium and a yellow vent. They are found in dense scrub habitats, where they skulk within vegetation and can be difficult to see although their loud and distinct burst of calls is distinctive.

The White-browed Bulbul is about 20 cm (7 inches) long, with a moderately long (8 cm) tail. It has olive-grey upperparts and whitish underparts. This species is identifiable by the white supercilium, white crescent below the eye, and dark eyestripe and moustachial stripe. The vent is yellowish and there is some yellow on the chin and moustache. The throat is however largely whitish unlike in the similar looking and sounding Yellow-throated Bulbul which is found in rockier habitats. Three or four hair-like filoplumes are present on the nape. Sexes are similar in plumage. It is usually detected by the burst of song that it produces from the top of a bush and often dives into the bush becoming difficult to see. The song is a rich, spluttering warble and the bird is more often heard than seen. The nominate form is from southern India while insulae from Sri Lanka is slightly darker and has a shorter wing Known as බැම සුදු කොන්ඩයා in Sinhala.

This species is endemic to southern India and Sri Lanka. The northern boundary is along Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and western West Bengal (near Midnapur). It is found in dry open scrub country mainly on the plains and also occurs in gardens and woodlands with dense shrubbery.
White-browed Bulbuls are usually seen singly or in pairs. They forage within bushes for fruit, nectar and insects. The breeding season is spread out from March to September and may possibly breed twice a year. Peaks in breeding occur in February and again in September. The dry season of May to July appears to be avoided for breeding in the Point Calimere region. They build a nest, a loose cup made of twigs, cobwebs and hair placed low in a thick bush and usually on the periphery. Two eggs form the typical clutch.Individuals may live for more than 11 years.

Captured in Colombo.

Kudiramale Point in Wilpattu National Park ( Top Archaeological site in the country)

History: 

A Legend has it that Kihirikanda (Kudiramalai), a point on the shore was the landing place of Vijaya, while Kuveni lived in 'Kālivila (Kali Villu)', in the Wilpattu National Park.

Pointedly, Kāli" is a female demonic (Yakkha) representation of Durga. Kihirikanda was visited by Roman sailors during the time of Claudius (417 AD), and Pliny talks of a large settlement called "Hippuros" here. The worf "hippuros" evokes horses, and connects with the word "Kudira" which is a Dravidian root word for "horse". Thus there may have been a name like "Thuranga-male" which was directly rendered in to Malayalam during the Magha invasions, giving the form Kuthirimalai, as it exists today. That the Magha invaders simply translated place names into Dravidian equivalents is seen from the rendering if Meepathota into Illupiakadavai by the Magha.

Another possibility is that the word 'Kadira', from Sanskrit, probably refers to Mimosa Catechu' of the 'accacia' family, and is the 'Kihiri' tree in Sinhala and 'Karuveal' in Tamil. This is consistent with the vegetation of the area.

Rose-ringed parakeet - Non Migrant Bird Specie

The Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri), also known as the Ring-necked Parakeet, is a gregarious tropical Afro-Asianparakeet species that has an extremely large range. Since the trend of the population appears to be increasing, the species was evaluated as Least Concern by IUCN in 2012.
Rose-ringed Parakeets are popular as pets. The scientific name commemorates the Austrian naturalist Wilhelm Heinrich Kramer.^[2]

This non-migrating species is one of few parrot species that have successfully adapted to living in 'disturbed habitats', and in that way withstood the onslaught of urbanisation and deforestation. In the wild, this is a noisy species with an unmistakable squawking call.

Indian Rose-ringed Parakeets measure on average 40 cm (16 in) in length including the tail feathers. Their average single wing length is about 15–17.5 cm (5.9–6.9 in). The tail accounts for a large portion of their total length.

The Rose-ringed Parakeet is sexually dimorphic. The adult male sports a red neck-ring and the hen and immature birds of both sexes either show no neck rings, or display shadow-like pale to dark grey neck rings.

n the wild, Rose-ringed Parakeets usually feed on buds, fruits, vegetables, nuts, berries and seeds. Wild flocks also fly several miles to forage in farmlands and orchards causing extensive damage.

In India, they feed on cereal grains, and during winter also on pigeon peas.In Egypt, during spring they feed on mulbery and in summer they feed on dates and nesting inside palm trees as also attacking sunflower and corn fields.

In north-west India, Indian Rose-ringed Parakeets form pairs during September to December. During this cold season, they select and defend nesting sites, and thus avoid competition for sites with other birds. Feeding on winter pea crops provides in particular the female with nutrients necessary for egg production. During April to June, they care for their young. Fledgings are ready to leave the nest before monsoon.

Rose-ringed Parakeets are popular as pets and they have a long history in aviculture. The ancient Greeks kept the Indian subspecies P. krameri manillensis, and the ancient Romans kept the African subspecies P. krameri krameri. Colour mutations of the Indian Rose-ringed Parakeet subspecies have become widely available in recent years.

Red-wattled Lapwing - Resident Breeder in Sri Lanka

The Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus) is a lapwing or large plover, a wader in the family Charadriidae. It has characteristic loud alarm calls which are variously rendered as did he do it or pity to do it leading to colloquial names like the did-he-do-it bird. Usually seen in pairs or small groups not far from water but may form large flocks in the non-breeding season (winter).

Red-wattled Lapwings are large waders, about 35 cm long. The wings and back are light brown with a purple sheen, but head and chest and front part of neck are black. Prominently white patch runs between these two colours, from belly and tail, flanking the neck to the sides of crown. Short tail is tipped black. A red fleshy wattle in front of each eye, black-tipped red bill, and the long legs are yellow. In flight, prominent white wing bars formed by the white on the secondary coverts.

Race aigneri is slightly paler and larger than the nominate race and is found in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Indus valley. The nominate race is found all over India. The Sri Lankan race lankae is smaller and dark while atronuchalis the race in north-eastern India and eastern Bangladesh has a white cheek surrounded by black.
Males and females are similar in plumage but males have a 5% longer wing and tend to have a longer carpal spur. The length of the birds is 320-350mm, wing of 208-247mm with the nominate averaging 223mm, Sri Lanka 217mm. The Bill is 31-36mm and tarsus of 70-83mm. Tail length is 104-128mm.

It usually keeps in pairs or trios in well-watered open country, ploughed fields, grazing land, and margins and dry beds of tanks and puddles. They occasionally form large flocks, ranging from 26 to 200 birds.It is also found in forest clearings around rain-filled depressions. It runs about in short spurts and dips forward obliquely (with unflexed legs) to pick up food in a typical plover manner.They are said to feed at night being especially active around the full moon. Is uncannily and ceaselessly vigilant, day or night, and is the first to detect intrusions and raise an alarm, and was therefore considered a nuisance by hunters. Flight rather slow, with deliberate flaps, but capable of remarkable agility when defending nest or being hunted by a hawk.

It breeds from West Asia (Iraq, SW Iran, the Arabian/Persian Gulf) eastwards across South Asia (Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the entire Indian subcontinent up to Kanyakumari and up to 1800m in Kashmir/Nepal), with another sub-species further east in Southeast Asia. May migrate altitudinally in spring and autumn (e.g. in N. Baluchistan or NW Pakistan), and spreads out widely in the monsoons on creation of requisite habitats, but by and large the populations are resident.

The breeding season is mainly March to August.

Captured in Yala National Park.

Yala National Park

Yala National Park is the most visited and second largest national park in Sri Lanka. The park consists of five blocks, two of which are now open to the public, and also adjoining parks. The blocks have individual names such as, Ruhuna National Park(block 1) and Kumana National Park or 'Yala East' for the adjoining area. It is situated in the southeast region of the country, and lies in Southern Province and Uva Province. The park covers 979 square kilometres (378 sq mi) and is located about 300 kilometres (190 mi) from Colombo. Yala was designated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1900, and, along with Wilpattu was one of the first two national parks in Sri Lanka, having been designated in 1938. The park is best known for its variety of wild animals. It is important for the conservation of Sri Lankan Elephants and aquatic birds.

There are six national parks and three wildlife sanctuaries in the vicinity of Yala. The park is situated in the dry semi-arid climatic region and rain is received mainly during the northeast monsoon. Yala hosts a variety of ecosystems ranging from moist monsoon forests to freshwater and marine wetlands. It is one of the 70 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Sri Lanka. Yala harbours 215 bird species including six endemic species of Sri Lanka. The number of mammals that has been recorded from the park is 44, and it has one of the highest leopard densities in the world.

The area around Yala has hosted several ancient civilisations. Two important pilgrim sites, Sithulpahuwa and Magul Vihara, are situated within the park. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami caused severe damage on the Yala National Park and 250 people died in its vicinity. The number of visitors has been on the rise since 2009 after the security situation in the park improved.

White Rumped Munia - Resident Breeder in Sri Lanka.

The white-rumped munia or white-rumped mannikin (Lonchura striata), sometimes called striated finch in aviculture, is a smallpasserine bird from the family of waxbill "finches" (Estrildidae). These are close relatives of the true finches (Fringillidae) and true sparrows.

It is native to tropical continental Asia and some adjacent islands, and has been naturalized in spome parts of Japan. Its domesticatedhybrid descendant, the Society Finch or Bengalese Finch, is found worldwide as a pet and a biological model organism.

The White-rumped Munia is approximately 10 to 11 cm in length, with a stubby grey bill and a long black pointed tail. The adults are brown above and on the breast, and lighter below; the rump is white. There is some variation between the subspecies, but the sexes are almost impossible to distinguish in all subspecies; males have a more bulky head and bill.

The White-rumped Munia is a common resident breeder ranging from South Asia to southernChina east to Taiwan, and through Southeast Asia south to Sumatra; it frequents open woodland, grassland and scrub, and is well able to adapt to agricultural land use. It is a gregarious bird which feeds mainly on seeds, moving through the undergrowth in groups and sometimes accompanying other birds such as Puff-throated Babblers (Pellorneum ruficeps). The nest is a large domed grass structure in a tree, bush or grass into which 3–8 white eggs are laid.They are often found near water and have been observed feeding on algae. It has been suggested that they obtain protein from their diet of algae often in the species Spirogyra, which grows in paddyfields.

It is a common and widespread bird across its large range, and is thus not considered athreatened species by the IUCN. In fact, it may locally become a nuisance pest of millets and similar grains. Even the Nicobar Islands subspecies with its limited range seems to be able to cope well with human settlement. As it is a drab-colored and rather reclusive bird inhabiting dense undergrowth, the White-rumped Munia is not necessarily conspicuous even where it occurs in considerable numbers.

Captured in Colombo...

Crimson Breasted Barbet

The Coppersmith Barbet, Crimson-breasted Barbet or Coppersmith (Megalaima haemacephala), is a bird with crimson forehead and throat which is best known for its metronomic call that has been likened to a coppersmith striking metal with a hammer. It is a resident found in the Indian Subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia. Like other barbets, they chisel out a hole inside a tree to build their nest. They are mainly fruit eating but will take sometimes insects, especially winged termites.
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This species of barbet is found to overlap in range with several larger barbets in most of South Asia. In the Western Ghats, it partly overlaps with the Malabar Barbet which is of a very similar size but having a more rapid call. The red forehead, yellow eye-ring and throat patch with streaked underside and green upperparts, it is fairly distinctive. Juveniles are duller and lack the red patches. The sexes are alike. The Sri Lankan form has more black on the face, more red on the breast and darker streaks on the underside.

During the nesting season, the wear and tear on the feathers can cause the plumage of the upper back to appear bluish.

Throughout their wide range they are found in gardens, groves and sparse woodland. Habitats with trees having dead wood suitable for excavation is said to be important. Birds nest and roost in cavities.

Keeps solitary, pairs, or small groups; larger parties occasionally on abundantly fruiting Ficus trees. Fond of sunning themselves in the morning on bare top branches of tall trees, often flitting about to sit next to each other. The flight is straight, with rapid flaps.

The call is a loud rather metallic tuk…tuk…tuk (or tunk), reminiscent of a copper sheet being beaten, giving the bird its name. Repeated monotonously for long periods, starting with a subdued tuk and building up to an even volume and tempo, the latter varying from 108 to 121 per minute and can continue with as many as 204 notes. They are silent and do not call in winter.

The beak remains shut during each call - a patch of bare skin on both sides of the throat inflates and collapses with each tuk like a rubber bulb and the head is bobbed.

They eat nearly 1.5 to nearly 3 times their body weight in berries each day. Prefers Banyan, Peepul, and other wild figs, various drupes and berries, and the occasional insect, caught in aerial sallies.Petals of flowers may also be included in their diet. 

Courtship involves singing, puffing of the throat, bobbing of the head, flicking of the tail, ritual feeding and allopreening.They breed through much of the year with local variation. The breeding season is mainly February to April in India and December to September in Sri Lanka. Both sexes excavate the nest on the underside of a narrow horizontal branch. They may also roost inside the nest holes.Three or four eggs are laid and like in many hole nesting birds the incubation period is not well known but has been estimated to be about 2 weeks. Both sexes incubate. Often two broods are raised in quick succession.

Captured in Wasgamuwa National Park