Sigiriya is an effective birding location to go to with a non-birding companion as it’s the web site of a spectacular rock fortress constructed round AD 480. The discerning birder won’t have the time to go to the fortress itself however will nonetheless see it from under and encounter a number of the fortifications under.
The king who had the fortress constructed ended up both being poisoned by a courtisan or slicing his personal throat within the face of defeat – Wikipedia provides each choices. Makes it sound like a narrative from a misplaced e-book of the Previous Testomony.
Which is a barely pressured hyperlink to the track “Charlton Heston” by Stump. That includes the traditional line “Charlton Heston put his vest on” together with some sensible recommendation together with “A recipe for locust pie” and “Thou shalt not bonk your neighbour’s spouse”. Extremely advisable.
A street on the backside of the rock has some fascinating views of partly flooded timber – the impression is considered one of exaggerated three dimensionality, which the pictures under sadly don’t totally seize.
These forests make for powerful hen images, although there are additionally huge open areas that yield a lot better outcomes (to be coated in subsequent posts). However after all, the Indian Pitta shuns these brightly lit locations.
It appears pretty just like the Fairy Pitta migrating by means of Shanghai – curiously, whereas the Chinese language title for the Fairy Pitta signifies that it’s an 8-color hen (“Xian ba se dong”), the Indian title for the Indian Pitta, “Navrang,” interprets as “9 colours.”
Nonetheless, the scientific title Pitta brachyura signifies that it’s a short-tailed hen (brakhus quick; –ouros -tailed, in accordance with the HBW).
It’s migratory and solely spends the winter (roughly from mid-October to mid-April) in Sri Lanka.
In response to a paper within the Journal of Threatened Taxa, the species is particular in having a novel kind of barb: “We noticed a novel kind of barb the primary time from dorsal physique contour feather having plumulaceous barbules on the base adopted by pennaceous barbules.” Generally, I’m glad I didn’t examine ornithology.
No person is aware of why the Orange-headed Thrush selected such a vibrant shade solely to cover within the forest shade on a regular basis.
A paper means that they solely get into the sunshine when the males wish to impress the females. So typical for males … I ought to have introduced a feminine alongside to get higher photographs, I suppose.
Sadly, this put up continues with birds with fascinating colours photographed within the shade. Right here is the Black-naped Monarch …
… and right here in its nest. Higher nest photographs and a few data on their breeding could be discovered right here.
Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher is described as a forest generalist in a latest put up on the influence of forest fragmentation on birds. The examine described within the put up warns that even comparatively adaptable birds like this flycatcher keep away from extra open areas reminiscent of rubber plantations, highlighting the detrimental influence of forest fragmentation.
That examine was truly executed in Sri Lanka, as was one in one other paper describing a Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher consuming a Sri Lankan shrub frog (it has a photograph of a barely unhappy-looking frog).
The Sri Lanka Shama is a Sri Lanka endemic that appears just about just like the White-rumped Shama to me – however apparently, genetics say in any other case.
The visible variations can be very straightforward to miss for me although – in accordance with the HBW, the endemic has a “shorter tail, lowered sexual dimorphism, and paler stomach” than its relative.
Its scientific title Copsychus leggei honors Lt.-Col. William Vincent Legge (1841-1918) of the Australian Military who additionally labored as a naturalist in Sri Lanka, however his Wikipedia entry primarily focuses on his navy profession.
Male Indian Paradise Flycatchers are available in two morphs – that is the white one, which is mostly much less frequent than the rufous one. Nonetheless, the white morph is extra frequent within the southern areas of their vary than within the north (supply).
Breeding success is comparable for each morphs (supply).
Typically, I are likely to assume 10,000 Birds has no unattractive readers, but when I’m flawed, here’s a small message of hope from the identical web site describing the paradise flycatcher: “Because of their monogamous conduct, unattractive males are often nonetheless in a position to breed”.
There actually are not any unattractive Black-backed Dwarf Kingfishers, solely people in unhealthy lighting. Sadly, this appears to be their commonest habitat.
The species is listed as Close to Threatened as its inhabitants is suspected of getting declined by 20-29% over the previous ten years.
I think that its choice for low mild environments is also the rationale for its deceptive title – to cite the HBW, “Regardless of its title, its mantle is a superb ultramarine-blue shade”.
