Ceylon Spurfowl – (Galloperdix bicalcarata)

These birds are quite reserved. Often found in wet-zone forests and riverine forests in the dry zones as pairs, these birds, who also resemble a female jungle fowl except for the black and white markings on the belly in both sexes, remain out of sight. Extremely cautious and evasive (even at Sinharaja), these birds’ presence can be identified by their loud duets, which have a rise in pitch.

 
Ceylon Jungle Fowl – (Gallus lafayetii)

Jungle fowls are prevalent in forest regions up to the mountains and can be best spotted early in the morning in the dry zone national parks. Those in the wet-zone forests are very tense, excluding ones in protected forests, who are accustomed to the benefits. The female jungle fowl is brown with barred wings and the male jungle fowl resembles are domestic cockerel the neck is golden.

Ceylon Wood Pigeon – (Columba torringtoniae)

These birds like forests in the highlands better, but seasonally visit the lower hills, even Sinharaja. These bluish-grey bodied birds, with a black and white marking on the hind-neck, can occasionally be spotted in visiting gardens too. They are bigger than feral pigeons.

Ceylon Green Pigeon – (Treron pompadora)

Great travelers, these pigeons are abundant across the island, though not as common as the orange-breasted ones. The male green-pigeon has a visible purple mantle while the female is like the orange-breasted green-pigeon, except its nape is greenish instead of greyish.

Ceylon Hanging Parrot – (Loriculus beryllinus)

Frequently uttering a three-syllable call, these birds are regularly found in the wet zone till the mid-hills, inriverine forests in the dry zone and in some dry zone areas such as Gal Oya. The hanging parrot is a small, green bird with a red crown and beak.

Layard’s Parakeet – (Psittacufa calthropae)

Also known as the emerald-collaredparakeet though the ‘emerald collar’ sometimes isn’t vivid, these birds frequent wet-zone forests of high standards in the lowlands and mid hills and occasionally in dry zone areas such as at Gal Oya. They are best distinguished by their noisy calls to each other as they soar about in a flock.

Red-Faced Malkoha – (Phaenicophaeus pyrrhocephalus)

These distinctive birds, with their red face, black upperparts, and tail with white underparts, are restricted to the tall lowland rainforests, such as Sinharaja, Morapitiya and Kithulgala, mingling with mixed-species feeding flocks. Usually quiet (sometimes letting out a gruff croak), they are difficult to spot in the canopy.

Green-Billed Coucal – (Centropus chlororhynchos)

Considered as one of the endangered birds of Sri Lanka, this bird resembles the common garden bird, the Greater Coucal, except for its green bill. They only exist in limited lowland rainforests like Sinharaja. Morapitiya and Kithulgala; some also found in small pockets such as Bodhinagala.

Serendib Scops-Owl – (Otus hoffmanni)

Initially spotted in 2001 and described in science in 2004, they are distinguished from other scops-owls by their reddish-hued plumage, soft single-note call and the evident lack of ear tufts. The males have orange irises while the females’ irises are yellowish. Confined to a few lowland rainforests such as Sinharaja and Kithulgala, they are spotted close to the ground, at the disturbed forest edge.

 

Chestnut-Backed Owlet – (Glaucidium Castanonotum)

This owlet has chestnut upperparts and its head has bands of grey and white. These birds are non-nocturnal, though they can go easily unnoticed it not for their wide range of calls. They are a common species often found in forested regions in wet-zone lowlands and hills.

 

Ceylon Grey Hornbill – (Ocyceros gingalensis)

The grey hornbill’s overall grey upperparts and lack of a casque on the upper mandible sets it apart from the Malabar Pied Hornbill; the females have dark mandibles with a yellow island-shaped patch along its middle and the males have yellow mandibles with a dark patch at the base. These birds are abundant in forests in the lowlands and hills and have a travelling gruff call.

Yellow-Fronted Barbet – (Megalaima flavifrons)

Like all barbets, they have a green body, but they have a yellow forehead and a blue face. Mainly found in the wet- zone lowlands and hills, they are a common sight in the gardens and tea estates of the mid-hills and highlands. They replace brown-headed barbet in heavy forests.

 

Ceylon Small Barbet – (Megalaima rubricapillus)

This sparrow-sized bird has yellow around the eyes, a crimson forehead and lacks the streaking on the underparts found in the similar-looking coppersmith barbet, which replaces it in the dry zone. They are found in gardens and forests in the lowlands and hills and also in the heart of cities like Colombo and Kandy. Unnoticed due to their six and always being on trees, they can be spotted by locating their ‘pop pop pop’ calls usually from a high vantage point.

 

Crimson-Backed – (Chrysocolaptes stricklandi)

Founded in flourished gardens and forests in wet-zone lowlands and hills, the crimson-backed flameback resembles the ‘red-backed’ form of the black rumped flameback, but it has an ivory-coloured bill; females’ crown is black with while flecks. These birds have a sharp neighing call and replace the black-rumped flameback in dense forests.

 

Ceylon Swallow – (Hirundo hyperythra)

Its deep red underparts and rump help distinguish it from the migrant races of the red-rumped swallows, who also have clear streaks on their underparts. The red underpart also helps to distinguish from the migrant barn swallow who also has blue upperparts. Widespread across the island, they are often seen hunting for insects in open areas.

 

Ceylon Wood-Shrike – (Tephrodornis affinis)

A nondescript bird of greyish colour with a dark mask, these birds are regularly found in the scrub jungle of the dry lowlands and adjacent slash-and-burn agriculture lands. Both male and female birds have a similar appearance.

 

Black-Capped Bulbul – (Pycnonotus melanicterus)

With a black cap, yellow plumage and white-tipped tail feathers, these birds are found in the wet-zone forests in the lowlands and hills and in some dry zone forests.

 

Yellow-Eared Bulbul – (Pycnonotus penicillatus)

These birds have black and white strike patterns on their face and yellow ear tufts. Frequenting the wet-zone hills and highlands and often in gardens, these birds have strong calls.

 

Ceylon Whistling-Thrush – (Myophonus blighi)

Restricted to the Knuckles and the cloud forests in the central highlands, these birds are best spotted early in the morning or late in the evening by locating their sharp gruff calls. The male is a is brownish-black bird, with a blue gloss on the fore parts and the female is brown; both have a blue shoulder patch.

 

Spot-Winged Thrush – (Zoothera spiloptera)

These birds have white spots on their wings and vivid black and white marks on their face. Popular in damp forests, where they search for invertebrates on the forest floor, their long-term survival depends on the future of wet-zone forests. Their brilliant song helps locate them in forests of wet lowlands and hills.

 

Ceylon Scaly Thrush  – (Zoothera imbricata)

Similar to the spot-winged thrush, the scaly thrush has a heavy bill and a spotted plumage. A distinct bird, it is commonly found in wet- zone forests from the lowlands to the highlands. It rarely sings, which is a hissing call that is comparatively high-pitched than the spot-winged thrush.

 

Sri Lanka Bush Warbler  – (Elaphrornis paljiseri)

A dark bird, both sexes have reddish brown wings and tail; the male has reddish irises while the females’have pale. Found in Strobilanthes thickets in the highland forests, such as those around Nuwara Eliya, these birds loiter close to the forest ground. Duos keep contact through a series of contact calls.

 

Dusky Blue Flycatcher – (Eumyias sordidus)

This bird resembles the black-naped monarch, being a small blue bird. However it has a white belly and under-tail coverts and a more frantic behaviour when compared with the black-naped monarch. These birds frequent the highlands and occasionally in the mid hills and gardens as they are accustomed to humans.

 

Brown-Capped Babbler – (Pellorneum fuscocapilius)

A small brown bird with a darker brown cap, this bird has a distinctive call. Very discrete, it is widespread across the island up to the highlands in forest patches.

 

Ceylon Scimitar Babbler- (Pomatorhinus melanurus)

Their conspicuous white eyebrow and the down-curved ‘scimitar’ bill distinguishes this bird. Found in forests across the island, these birds are always spotted in duetting pairs, where the male voices a long bubbling series of calls which isconcluded with a ‘kriek’ from the female. Such is the synchronization that the sound can be mistaken to be from a single bird. Separate races have been described to exist in the dry and wet zones but are indistinct when in the field.

 

Ceylon Rufous Babbler – (Turdoides rufescens)

These bills are distinguished from their orange bills and legs, reddish brown body and constant babbling. Always among a noisy flock, they are a nucleus species of mixed-species feeding flocks. They are commonly found in largely undisturbed forests (they are almost absent from Kanneliya Rain forest due to the heavy disturbance) and generally in the wet-zone rain forests, in the lowlands and highlands.

 

Ceylon White-Eye -(Zosterops ceylonensis)

These birds are distinguished from the oriental white eye by the clear ‘split’ in the white eye ring, in front of the eye, and they are also darker and a bit bigger. The two birds also have different calls; often seen together during the seasonal movements of the Ceylon white-eye to the lowland wet zone.  Flocks of these birds can be witnessed in gardens in the highlands.

 

Ashy-Headed Laughing Thrush – (Argya cinereifrons)

This bird has an ashy head and a brown body; they are restricted to a few extensive lowland rain forests and can be properly seen at the ‘Barrier Gate’ flock at Sinharaja. Very shy, they choose to forage close to the ground and shrub layer and flee for cover. They always stay with mixed-species feeding flocks and keep up a medley of hyper-sounding calls, often with a hint of metallic quality.

 

Legge’s Flowerpecker – (Dicaeurn vincens)

These birds are found in tall forests in the lowland wet zone, spotted near the ground feeding on ripe berries of the common Osbeckias pecies along roadsides. The males have blue upper parts, a white chin and throat and yellow belly that sets them apart from other flower peckers; the females have a duller appearance. Males generally sing from a higher perch.

 

Ceylon Crested Drongo – (Dicrurus lophorhinus)

These birds have a deeply forked tail which is generally without rackets; the occasional bird with a racket is mistaken for the greater racket-tailed drongo, found in riverine forests of the dry zone. These birds are confined to wet-zone forests from the lowlands to mid elevations. At close quarters, the crest, a tuft like projection on the forehead can be seen. Great at mimicking, these birds also have a beautiful medley of belling calls.

 

Ceylon Blue Magpie – (Uroc’ssa ornata)

The blue magpie is a remarkably colourful bird – chocolate brown colour on the head an wings with a red bill eye-ring and legs with a blue plumage and white tail. A member of the crow family, they are always found in small flocks and confined to wet-zone forests. A unique characteristic of these birds is that the whole flock will help a pair to nest and raise young.

 

White-Faced Starling -(Sturnornis albofrontatus)

A bird with greyish upperparts, paler streaked underparts, a white face and a pale bill, it has a sharp call to locate it. Confined to lowland wet-zone forests, these birds prefer the canopy but can be spotted close to ground level feeding on the fruit of shrubs. They often join mixed-species feeding flocks.

 

Ceylon Hill-Myna – (Gracula ptilogenys)

The Ceylon hill-mynas have one pair of wattles, not two like the lesser hill-mynas, and the black base to bill. They are common in the lowland wet-zone forests and prefer the high canopy. They have a range of high-pitched, far-carrying calls and whistles. Both of the hill myna species show white on the wing during flight.