Sri Lanka is indeed a bird watching hotspot and a paradise for bird lovers. It is home to 492 bird species, of which 219 are breeding residents. Among them, 34 species are endemic to Sri Lanka. Birdlife International recognizes Sri Lanka as one of the world’s best Endemic Bird Areas. As well, it acts as a winter destination and breeding ground for lots of migratory birds. If you are an avid bird lover, look no further than Sri Lanka.
Bird watching is a famous activity among both local and foreign travelers. There is a large number of different bird species spread throughout the island, which offers a great opportunity to enjoy lots of bird spotting. Thus, bird lovers will get a wonderful opportunity to get up close to the amazing birdlife in Sri Lanka.
Here we are going to give you a brief guide about the best places for bird watching and lovely bird species in Sri Lanka. This isn’t a complete guide about all Sri Lankan birds, but we will show you the most attractive birds you’ll see during your visit to the country.
Best places for bird watching in Sri Lanka
There are several bird sanctuaries in Sri Lanka, ideal for bird watchers. Here is a brief guide about where you should head to watch the flying marvels of the island.
Kumana National Park
One of the main bird sanctuaries best for bird watching in Sri Lanka is the Kumana National Park. It is an important bird nesting and breeding ground on the island. Kumana Bird Sanctuary has recorded 255 species of birds.
Bundala National Park
Bundala National Park is a highly important paradise for bird watching in the country. Since it locates in the bird migratory route, it is a favorite breeding ground, where flocks of flamingos, herons, and storks are a regular sight. There are plenty of migratory birds coming in between the months of September to March during the winter in the northern hemisphere.
Knuckles Mountain Range
Knuckles Mountain Range is a biodiversity hotspot that is located in the districts of Kandy and Matale in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It locates over 2,000 m of sea level and houses many species of hill country birds. Lots of bird watchers hike and trek through these hill country mountains for bird watching.
Sinharaja Rain Forest
Sinharaja Rain Forest has recorded over 154 species of birds and it is home to several endemic birds in Sri Lanka, including Ceylon Junglefowl, Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, and many other species. It considers a great place for bird watching in Sri Lanka.
Victoria Park
Victoria Park spreads out on 27 acres of land and is full of trees and flowers. It’s the perfect place for a fresh natural walk while watching lovely hill country birds. This is the best bird lover’s paradise within Nuwara Eliya city. If you want to see hill country birds this is the best place for bird watching in Sri Lanka.
Udawatta Kele Sanctuary
This 104 hectares of forest is a fantastic bird sanctuary In Kandy city. This is a very popular site with the birders in the Kandy area. This is a tall, wet evergreen forest that attracts many species of birds.
The other places best for bird watching in Sri Lanka are the Kalametiya Bird Sanctuary, Adam’s Peak Wilderness Sanctuary, Kitulgala Forest Reserve, Adam’s Bridge Marine Park, and most of the national parks in Sri Lanka including Yala, Wilpattu, Udawalawe, Wagamuwa, Minneriya, and Horton Plains. In addition to that, numerous tanks, reservoirs, lagoons, marshes, lakes, and rivers are frequently the home to Sri Lankan birds.
Lovely Birds in Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan birds belong to 2 types; Resident birds and Migrant birds. To clarify, resident birds live in Sri Lanka throughout their lifespan. Migrant birds come here for a specific period and go back to where they came from after a few months. Most importantly, Endemic species are found only in Sri Lanka, nowhere else in the world. While your Sri Lanka travel, you’ll meet both kinds of these lovely bird species.
1. Ceylon Jungle fowl
Ceylon Jungle fowl (Gallus lafayetti) is endemic to Sri Lanka, where it is the national bird of the country. It distributes in all climatic zones from the sea level up to the highest hills in a wide variety of habitats across the island. Sinharaja rain forest is the best place to see it in close quarters. But, this bird is frequent in almost all forests in the country.
Without a doubt, this is the most colorful endemic bird in Sri Lanka. This large, beautiful bird is mainly bright blue with a red bill and a long graduated blue tail. It has elongated reddish-orange feathers all over the back. There is an orange spot in the red comb. This bright color combination gives him a colorful, dazzling appearance.
2. Sri Lankan Blue Magpie
Sri Lankan Blue Magpie (Urocissa Ornate) is a beautiful and colorful attractive bird, call as Kehibella in Sinhala. It is endemic to Sri Lanka and can find easily in the Sinharaja rainforest. Above all other birds, it is a strikingly colored bird, with a dark brown head. Its plumage is bright blue, and its blue tail is long with a white tip. The bill, legs, and eye-ring is vibrant red.
It is a frequent bird found in the high forest canopy of the wet zone forests. Blue Magpies like undisturbed forests in the mountains, foothills, and adjoining lowlands. It isn’t seen in disturbed habitats such as gardens or plantations.
3. Grey Hornbill
Two kinds of Hornbills live in Sri Lanka, while the Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros Gingalensis) is endemic to the country. It calls as Alu Kendetta in Sinhala. The Sri Lanka grey hornbill is a beautiful, large bird at 45 cm in length.
As the name suggested, Grey Hornbill has grey wings with a grey back and a brown crown. The long, curved bill is cream-colored. They consider as most effective seed dispersers since their diet consists mainly of fruits and nuts.
4. Red-faced Malkoha
Red-faced Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus pyffhocephalus) is a rare, endemic bird in Sri Lanka. It is a forest dweller, found mostly in undistributed wet zone forests. Sinharaja rain forest is the easiest place to observe this bird.
Definitely, it can be identified without a mistake by his crimson-red face. The malkoha is about the size of the common koel, but more slender. Its tail is also longer. Its population has seriously declined throughout time, and now it is considered definitely a scarce bird.
5. Grey-headed flycatcher
The Grey-headed Flycatcher (Culicicapa ceylonensis) is a species of small flycatcher-like bird found in Sri Lanka. It has a grey head and a canary yellow belly. It is about 12–13 cm long, a small bird common in Sri Lankan central highlands.
6. Dull-blue flycatcher
Dull-blue flycatcher (Eumyias sordidus) is a small bird in the flycatcher family. This species is an endemic, resident breeder in the hills of Sri Lankan central highlands. The dull-blue flycatcher breeds in mountain forests and is not commonly found in lowlands.
7. Sri Lanka White Eye
The Sri Lanka white-eye (Zosterops ceylonensis) is a small endemic bird, mainly spread at the higher elevations in central highlands, commonly found in Nuwara Eliya and Horton Plains. It always recorded only around 1000 meters altitude.
This bird is about 11 cm long and the upper parts of the body and sides of the neck are dark olive green. The distinct feature is a white eye ring made of tiny white feathers around the eyes. This prominent ring of white around the eyes gives its name as white-eye.
8. Legge’s Flowerpecker
The Legge’s flowerpecker (Dicaeum vincens) is a small, endemic resident breeder in Sri Lanka. It is named after the Australian ornithologist William Vincent Legge. This is a common bird of forests and other wood habitats including gardens in the hill country.
9. Green Pigeon
There are several pigeon & dove species that live in Sri Lanka. Among them, the Green Pigeon (Treron pompadora) is endemic to the country. It calls Batagoya in Sinhala. These pigeons live in flocks feeding on various types of fruit in the low country.
10. Sri Lankan Hanging Parrot
There are five parrot species that live in Sri Lanka. Out of them, the Sri Lanka hanging parrot (Loriculus beryllinus) is endemic to the country. It uses to hang by his legs while feeding. The hanging Parrot is quite a small bird only 13 cm long with a short tail. This little bird is green in color with an orange-tinted nape and red curved beak. It lives in forests, including the Sinharaja rainforest.
Another common parrot species is the rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri), with a prominent red-colored neck ring. It is a medium-sized parrot that lives in the wild in groups. They can identify easily by their noisy unmistakable squawking call. These parrots use as house pets for a long time. These captive parrots can learn to speak. They can mimic human speech and learn to speak fluently with the support of a trainer.
11. Peacock
The magnificent peacock (Pavo cristatus) is a native bird in Sri Lanka. They are easy to find in many areas of the country. They live within the numerous national parks, while they can roost and perch in tall trees for their protection. It is such a colorful, magnificent creature, use as the main symbol representing the country, including Sri Lankan Air and many more. Above all, Sri Lankans respect Peacocks as the vehicle of God Kataragama.
Peacocks are the second largest bird in the world, next only to wild turkeys. The ones that you see in photographs with the beautiful plumage are the male peacocks. It has a length from bill to tail 1 meter, with a fully grown train long as much as 2 meters. The male peacock is best known for his peacock dance, by spreading his elongated upper-tail feathers which bear colorful eyespots. This marvelous dance is used to attract females during their courtship.
12. Green Bee Eater
Bee eaters are another colorful spectacle among Sri Lankan birds. There are four Bee-eater species in Sri Lanka. Green Bee Eater (Merops orientalis) is the more common species. The green bee-eater is widely distributed across Sri Lanka in grassland, thin shrubs, and forests. They are mainly insect eaters, as their name suggests. They prefer to eat insects, especially bees and wasps, which catch in the air by an open perch.
13. Black-hooded Oriole
Black-hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus) is a common bird in home gardens in Sri Lanka. Locally known as Kaha Kurulla (Yellowbird), this is a beautiful yellow-colored bird. Their plumage is predominantly yellow with black wing-trailing edges and a tail. It is a bird found in open woodland and cultivation. Yellow birds are found in tree canopies where they spend much of their time feeding on fruits and insects.
14. Painted Stork
Out of the 7 Stork species in Sri Lanka, the painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) has beautifully painted pink tertial feathers, a distinctive black breast band, and a deep yellow beak. It is a relatively larger stork widely spread in the country. It can be found in the RAMSAR wetlands and many of the national parks in Sri Lanka.
They feed in groups in shallow waters along rivers or lakes. Painted Storks immerse their half-open beaks in water and sweep small fish for feeding. They are not migratory and only make short-distance movements.
15. Ceylon Paradise flycatcher
The Indian paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi) has three subspecies, one of which is the Ceylon paradise flycatcher found in Sri Lanka. The adult male has a long ribbon-like tail and a glossy blackhead. They can be spotted in the lower lands of the country. There are two color morphs of paradise flycatchers in Sri Lanka; brown and white.
The brown morph has a cinnamon color plumage on the body and tail. The white morph has entirely white plumage. They feed by flycatching and feed on insects, which they capture in the air. This bird is known to have distinctive aerodynamic capabilities, supported by a slender body and a long tail, to catch insects in flight.
16. Kingfisher
There are 7 kingfisher species in Sri Lanka. Out of them, the white-throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) is easy to find in many areas. They are beautiful blue color birds, widely spread throughout the country.
Kingfishers have long, pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. They are spotted perching up on trees near water bodies to catch fish. Kingfishers sit and wait to pounce upon their prey to catch small fish, grasshoppers, small lizards, frogs, earthworms, beetles, etc.
17. Greater Flamingos
The greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. Most of the plumage is pinkish-white and the bill is pink with a restricted black tip, while the legs are entirely pink. Adam’s Bridge Marine Park in Mannar is a famous place to watch these migratory greater flamingos.
18. Spot-billed Pelican
There are three pelican species in Sri Lanka. Spot-billed pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) is the common, resident one, weighing nearly 4 – 6 kg. It is mainly off-white, with a grey crest, and a brownish tail. It has a pouch pink to purplish colored. The tip of the bill is yellow to orange.
If you are visiting Kandy, you’ll definitely find them perching in sturdy trees on the edge of Kandy Lake. These Pelicans can be found alone or together as groups. They are mainly living in large inland water bodies in the country.
19. Asian Koel
Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopacea) male is glossy bluish-black, with a distinct crimson red iris. The female can be identified easily by the dark brown body with white and beige spots. Koel is an interesting bird that shows brood parasitism. They never try to make a nest by themselves and use other birds’ nests for breeding. Female Koel lay its eggs in the nests of crows and other hosts, who raise its young.
The Koel calls as koha in Sinhala. It is deeply related to Sri Lankan culture because he is considered as the messenger of the Sri Lankan New Year. They are very vocal during the breeding season with a prominent vocal call of “Koo-oo” around the month of April. This familiar song of the male is concurrent with New Year celebrations in Sri Lanka.
20. Oriental Magpie Robin
The Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis) is a small, very common breeding resident of gardens, cultivations, and scrublands of all zones that avoid deep forests. It calls as “Polkichcha” in Sinhala. It feeds mainly on insects, hopping on the ground. But foods such as rice, bread and etc thrown out of the houses are also taken.
They are distinctive black and white birds with a long tail that is held upright as they search for food on the ground. The male has black upperparts, head, and throat apart from a white shoulder patch. The belly and the sides of the long tail are white. They can be found in open woodland and cultivated areas, often close to human habitations.
To sum up, here we have bought a brief guide and introduction to the amazing bird watching in Sri Lanka. Moreover, there are many more birds that haven’t been mentioned here. These lovely birds are an invaluable resource of our country and it is essential that these species are conserved. Thus, we need to ensure that their habitats are not destroyed or disturbed. Let’s do our best to protect them for future generations while bird watching in Sri Lanka.
Text by Magnificent Sri Lanka. Images from Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons. All copyrights are reserved by original authors.
