Dhakathi Demalichcha Sri - Lanka Scimitar-Babbler (Pomatorhinus melanurus)

Identification
Similar to horsfieldi horsfieldi but with no demarcations between the plumage of the upper parts and the sides of the breast and neck, the latter being of the same ferruginous, brown as the former; the tail is very dark marked with ferruginous at the base. Iris reddish brown to dull red; orbital skin and eyelid dull blue; bill pale to dark yellow, blackish on the base; legs and feet salty or greenish plumber ; feet, generally more bluish than tarsi, claws dusky-horny. Length about 210 to 215 mm.; wing about 86 to 94 mm.; tail about 95 mm.; tarsus about 30 mm.; culmen about 25 to 26 mm.


Behavior
Feeds on insects, grubs and spiders. Takes also flower nectar and berries. Seen in pairs during breeding season, in small groups the rest of the year. Often together with other species. Forages on the ground or in dense undergrowth. Breeding season from December to February in Sri Lanka. The nest is a loose, large domr with an entrance on the upper side. It's placed in a bush or on the ground, concealed in dense masses of foliage. Lays 2 to 5 eggs.

Location
Deciduous to evergreen forest, cardamon shoals, bamboo, tick cover. Locally up to 2400m.These Babblers associate either in pairs or small flocks, haunting any class of thick cover and working both the ground, bushes and the lower branches of trees for food.

 Gallery







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wali Kukula - The Ceylon Junglefowl (Gallus lafayetii)

Image
Identification Size of a small, but not bantam, breed of domestic fowl. Behavior Wali Kukula is a fairly common bird. It spends its life in forest or its outskirts, never venturing far from cover, though, especially in wet weather, it likes to frequent open places, such as roadsides or glades.The food of the Wali Kukula consists of grain, weed seeds, berries, various succulent leaves and buds, and a large proportion of small animals, such as crickets, centipedes and termites. When nillu flowers and seeds in up-country jungles, junglefowl migrate to these areas in large numbers to fatten on the abundant seed.
Read more

Paduwan Bassa - Serendib Scops Owl (Otus thilohoffmanni)

Image
Identification The new species is a small scops owl about 17 cm in length, with a short tail, and almost uniformly rufescent upperparts but for the presence of small black spots all over the body. The face is a little darker, and underparts paler than upper parts, with the belly becoming whitish. It has no distinct, “true” ear-tufts, but see below. The irides are orange-yellow in the male and yellow in the female and juvenile. The beak, legs and claws are whitish. The legs are feathered on the tibia and upper tarsi. The vocalization comprises a single note, pu’u’u, repeated at long intervals. Male and female call in the same pattern but in different keys.
Read more

Bada Rathu Wahilihiniya - Ceylon Swallow (Hirundo hyperythra)

Image
Identification   This bird has been  recently recognized as a distinct species and added to the Sri Lankan endemic list. Sparrow sized and stockier than our other swallows, it is unmistakable with purple-blue glossed upperparts and rusty underparts and rump. Both sexes are alike. Young are duller. The species is well distributed throughout the island up to about 1500 metres elevation. The birds associate in pairs or more often in scattered groups and spend their time flying after the insect prey they feed on. The usual habitat is open areas such as paddy fields, roadsides, grasslands, grass covered hillsides etc. The flight is typical swallow type with the wings being open and shut at the wrist joint.
Read more