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Sunday, September 6, 2009

Bird's in Sri lanka (Part 2)


Lanka Giramalitha -Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot


Lanka Giramalitta
Endemic & Threatened Birds in Sri Lanka
Local Name : Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot
Scientific Name : Loriculus beryllinus (Forster)



Size of a House Sparrow. Sexes alike, but the female is duller, coloured than the male, and has only a trace of pale-blue throat-patch; young birds have the head all green, but otherwise resemble their parents.


2. It is strictly arboreal, never descending to the ground. Although often solitary, companions are never far away, and it keeps them informed of its movements by constantly uttering, while o the wing, a sharp three-syllabled whistle twiwittwit...twitwitwit. The lorikeet is a convivial little bird, delighting in juicy fruits, the nectar of flowers(especially dadap and red cotton), and the juice of palms collected in toddy-drawers' pots.

The lorikeet breeds in the first half of the year, and sometimes again in July-September. Its breeding habits are highly remarkable. The eggs are white and nearly spherical, measuring about 19.3 X 16 mm.


3. This brilliantly-coloured little parrot is found everywhere in the hills up to 4,000 feet, and in the north-east monsoon it ascends a thousand feet higher; it also inhabits the low-country wet zone and parts of the dry zone to the south of the Northern Province.




Lanka Alu Girawa - Layard's Parakeet

Lanka Alu Girawa
Endemic & Threatened Birds in Sri Lanka
Local Name : Layard's Parakeet
Scientific Name : Psittacula calthrope Blyth



1. Between the Rose-ringed Parakeet and the Blossom-headed Parakeet in size. The female is duller than the male, and has the beak black. Young birds are green, with the head darker, and the lower back and rump colbalt blue; their beaks are at first dull orange, later black, from which colour that of the male gradually changes to bright scarlet of the adult. The dark grey head (green around the eye), pale grey back, and comparatively short, deep bluetail distinguish this from other Sri Lankan Parakeets.


2. Its cry is quite ditinctive




Vatha Rathu Malkoha - Red Faced Malkoha


Wataratu Malkoha
Endemic & Threatened Birds in Sri Lanka
Local Name : The Red-Faced Malkoha
Scientific Name : Phaenicophaeus pyrrhocephalus (Pennant)


1. About the length of Common Coucal, but more slenderly built and with, proportionally, a much longer tail. Sexes alike, except that the female has white irides-those of the male being brown. This handsome bird cannot mistaken for any other species on the Sri Lankan list.

2. It inhabits tall forest, and lives either solitary, in pairs, or in small flocks. It is shy and restless, a dweller in the tree canopy, where, like the last species, it cleverly threads its way through tangled twigs, creepers and foliage.

The breeding season is in the first half of the year and probably again in August-September. The nest is described as a shallow saucer of grass, roots and twigs, very carelessly put together, and placed in high bushes in forest with thick undergrowth. The two or three eggs are white, with a chalky surface, and they measure about 35.8 X 27 mm.

3. The Red-Faced Malkoha is regularly seen at Sinharaja and few other remaining rain forests, frequents associating with feeding waves. It is also found in scattered riverine habitats in the dry zone, such as Lahugala, Wasgamuwa, Manik Ganga and Kubukkan Oya.

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