Can you identify at least 10 ?
I hope this post will be a guideline to those ” birders” to spot them and get their own photos of these birds in October2018.
I am not a birdwatcher, but after seeing this collection I have to add Bird watching to my list of hobbies.
Rani
(Click or hover on the picture to see the answers)
SriLanka Spurfowl
SriLanka Jungle Fowl
SriLanka Wood Pigeon
SriLanka Green Pigeon
SriLanka Parakeet
Green Billed Coucal
SriLanka Serendib Scop-Owl
Yellow fronted Barbet
Crimson- Fronted Barbet
Black- Capped Bulbul
SriLanka Bush- Warbler
SriLanka Brown-Capped Babbler
SriLanka Scimitar-Babler
SriLanka Ashy-Headed Laughingthrus
SriLanka Whistling-Thrus
SriLanka spot- Winged Thurus
SriLanka Dull-Blue Flycatcher
SriLanka White-throated Flowerpecker
Crimson-Backed Flamback
SriLanka Swallow
SriLanka Chestnut-Backed Owlet
News, Views and More from Batch'64, Faculty of Medicine, Colombo, SriLanka 
HI Rani !
Great collection of Birds of Srilanka .
Good for you Rani- Take up Bird Watching – never to late to star on a Great hobby .
This is just how I spend my retirement- Bird Watching, Gardening and Hiking / Long Walks in the Woods .
Great fun .
I also invested a few thousand $$$ on hearing aids- so I can really listen to bird calls in my area, so much so, I last year, did a summer project for the local Ontario Provincial Park- Awenda Park- on just this .
I had to go round the neighbor hood, out side the park limits ( like where I live- 2 miles down the road, from the park ) , and video/ Audio tape / record ALL the bird sounds I heard during the months of May and June, and take it to the Park Naturalists- and they would ID them one by one .
This is now kept as a teaching file for Summer Students and visitors to the park – ” Bird Calls of Greater Awenda Area . ”
Gee- I left my Birds of Srilanka book back in Canada, and Iam now in Arizona USA.
I will look up Dr Google- but, this is cheating – so, I will not do so .
I will just wait for the Class of 64 Birder aka- Dharma Alagaratnam to do the ” 101 –Tell All Birds of SL ” !!
Dharma- is THE expert- he did a special Bird Watching trip and sent me pics of the exotic Srilankan Blue Magpie- is most coveted Bird Sighting – for which he had to wait 6 hrs to show up .
Another Birdie / photographer is Nisantha Banda-
I have photos from both of them .
Ok- off the top of my head – I could see an owl, ( chest nut backed – recalled from the book ) spotted winged thrush. coucal, , rufous bulbul , ? Emerald dove , or some kind of dove jungle fowl, parakeet- one of many I saw while in A’pura,
Anyway- Bird Watching — -is a test of patience and concentration and even a form of meditation ? like golf ?? !!!
Rani- now that you have given up golf, take up Birding – nice and easy as long as one does not get too, too carried away develop and OCD due to this !
Thanks for the Birds of Sri Lanka Show .
eagledbirdlover .
By the way right now, I am spending the weekend at a place called Pinetop- Lakeside , Arizona, – a lovely mountainous area, altitiude of 6000 + ft , and will go bird watching / hiking tomorrow with my friend here .
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Oh ya= forgot to mention the Wood pecker , Kaha kurulla, and the swallow .
did I get ten of them ?
eaglebirdlover
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Hi Deepthie thanks for guessing the names.I will post the full list. you have introduced us to this new hobby of listening and identifying bird “vocalisation ”
All of us love to listen to bird songs and bird calls. To be able to identify the bird, and to diffentiate whether it is a bird song or a bird call , is the ultimate pleasure of being a bird watcher.
As you know bird calls are repetitive short sounds to warn of any danger etc
Songs are longer complex sounds associated with mating or courtship.
“SONTE”
the musical term means sounds produced by structures like bill,body feathers, feet,tail.wings
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Click on the pictures to see Rani’s answers
Thank you Rani for this Native Birds post. I guess Batch’64 is not much in to Bird watching , including myself. I did enjoy the photography however.
Sam
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Thank you Rani for Birds of Srilanka .
Thank you Sam for the post .
I enjoyed seeing the photos and I am glad to say I got at least some of them correct .
What happened to the Birders of Class of 64 —- ????
Birds of A Feather of Class of 64– I guess do not Flock Together seems like !
Dharma and Nisantha ?– where are you guys ? – busy with other things perhaps I suppose .
I guess I take Pictures and some of you — like Sam, Dharma and Nisantha take Photographs !!
I was waiting to get a lesson on Birds of Srilanka from one of you .
I missed seeing the Koha but, loved the Atikukula- (Coucal ) and the two kinds of pigeons photos .
This time around, I plan on visiting Wilpattu to see birds , as I have never made a trip out there , and must remember to take along my books on Birds of Srilanka .
There is a very lovely spot on the way to A’pura- in Tabbowa, where one can park and look out onto the marsh and see an assortment of birds ,with a nice interpretive sign indicating what birds one can see at this place .
I have the most lovely photos/ videos of Painted Storks, Egrets and Asian Openbills taken out there .
Love watching the Cattle egrets following the tractor or the Buffalo , ploughing the paddy fields , prior to planting .
There were large flocks of parakeets ( mala girawa) in A’pura , chattering away at Palm Garden Village Hotel that Lakshman- Gita very kindly took me to, as I wanted to visit the Sri Maha Bodhi , Ruwanveliseya .
Anyway Rani — you did get ONE very appreciative viewer in the Captive Audience of Class of 64 !!
eagledbirdlover .
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Thanks Sam
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Thank you Rani for bringing up the endemic birds of Sri Lanka. The photos are beautiful. I did not know the exact meaning of “Endemic” until a few years ago. “Endemic species are plants and animals that exist only in one geographic region. Species can be endemic to large or small areas of the earth: some are endemic to a particular continent, some to part of a continent, and others to a single island” and not found in any other place in the world. For example the Sri Lanka (blue) Magpie is endemic to Sri Lanka. It is not seen in any other country. In fact, even in SL, it is found only in the Sinharaja Forest area.
There are said to be 459 species of birds in Sri Lanka. Of these 34 species found only in SL – Endemic.. I will not enumerate or identify the quiz birds. Anyone can ”Google” or wait for Rani’s answer.
I will list endemic SL birds I was fortunate enough to photograph.
List from the RU quiz.
1. Chestnut Backed Owlet ( Battaramulla)
2. Ceylon Swallow ( Sinharaja)
5, Dusky blue Flycatcher ( Hortan Plains)
6. Spot-winged ground thrush. ( Sinharaja)
Ceylon small Barbet (Kumana)
12. Black-capped Bullbul . ( Sinharaja)
18 Ceylon Green Pigeon ( Kumana)
20 Junglefowl (Male, SL National bird.)
The other Endemic birds I have photographed are
1. Ceylon Grey Hornbill,( Wilpattu)
2. Yellow-eared Bullbul Thank you Rani for bringing up the endemic birds of Sri Lanka. The photos are beautiful. I did not know the exact meaning of “Endemic” until a few years ago. “Endemic species are plants and animals that exist only in one geographic region. Species can be endemic to large or small areas of the earth: some are endemic to a particular continent, some to part of a continent, and others to a single island” and not found in any other place in the world. For example the Sri Lanka (blue) Magpie is endemic to Sri Lanka. It is not seen in any other country. In fact, even in SL, it is found only in the Sinharaja Forest area.
There are said to be 459 species of birds in Sri Lanka. Of these 34 species found only in SL – Endemic.. I will not enumerate or identify the quiz birds. Anyone can ”Google” or wait for Rani’s answer.
I will list endemic SL birds I was fortunate enough to photograph.
List from the RU quiz.
1. Chestnut Backed Owlet ( Battaramulla)
2. Ceylon Swallow ( Sinharaja)
5, Dusky blue Flycatcher ( Hortan Plains)
6. Spot-winged ground thrush. ( Sinharaja)
7. Ceylon small Barbet (Kumana)
12. Black-capped Bullbul . ( Sinharaja)
18 Ceylon Green Pigeon ( Kumana)
20 Junglefowl (Male, SL National bird.)
The other Endemic birds I have photographed are
1. Ceylon Grey Hornbill,
2. Yellow-eared Bullbul
3. Ceylon Scaly Thrush . ( Sinharaja)
4. Ceylon White Eye. (Horton Plains)
5. Ceylon (Blue) Magpie . ( Sinharaja)
6. Ceylon Crested Drongo ( Jaffna)
So I have successfully photographed !4 of the 34 endemics in SL There are some I have not included. If anyone is interested, I can send them to your by email without cluttering the Web . The Ceylon (Blue) Magpie is my most favorite. I had to trek 5 hours on hilly trail. My next targets are the Green billed Coucal and Red-faced Malkoha. Could not see them at Sinharaja. I just heard that Kitulgala has birds similar to Sinharaja. In fact a guy from our birding club here is going on a birding tour of SL (arranged by a company in S. Africa!!) That includes Kitulgala. I must make that trip myself.
As usual I am late. Too many things going on, including Grand baby number 6! My acquired middle initial is P for “Procrastinator”.
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Thanks Dharma for your information about the endemic birds
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Thank you Dharma for your very informative note , as I was waiting for it !
You are a real Globe Trotting Birder for sure .
I hope you get to see ALL of the Endemic Birds of Sri Lanka .
You did send me the incredible story/sighting and the photos of the Ceylon Blue Magpie- the ‘most wanted ‘ on your list , and I went through the pics you sent me after I saw Rani’s post .
I hope I can get to Wilapattu to see some birds and take a few pictures- Not Photographs like yours !
Thanks again- eagledbirdlover !
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I am not a bird watcher – even the “human ones”. But I don’t see any photos of CROWS which I could have identified !!!
Seelan
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Thanks Seelan
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I have messed up the typing in my response. Sorry. Seelan I am sure you know the two varieties of crows in SL.
Have got dumped on your head around the Eye hospital round about at dusk. Some say it is good luck! “Believe it or not” dharma
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