The birds are Ceylon are enchanting. To begin with garden birds in
the low country, the commonest are the Magpie Robins (Polkichcha), Red –
vented bulbuls (Kondays), the Mynah the House Sparrow (Ge kurulla),
the ubiquitous Crow (Kakka), Sun birds & the seven sisters. And in
the trees, green barbets that hammer out hesting holes, like the woodpeckers (Kottoruwas),
the lovely black headed Orioles, with lovely flutelike notes & a flash of
golden yellow & the red-backed wood peckers. Graceful terns & brown
headed gulls (Lihiniya) invade the harbor & Brahmin kites’ wheel
overhead. As many eighty or more different species of birds have been recorded
within the confines of Colombo.
But to see the abundance of birds life
in Ceylon one has to go to the more secluded areas & to the lakes or tanks
scattered throughout the island. Within the shores of Ceylon no birds have been
authenticated. Of these twenty one species & eighty one sub species or
geographical races are (according to W.W.A Phillips in his birds Ceylon)
endemic to Ceylon & do not occur beyond our shores.
Ceylon being only about 48.28km from
India, it is not surprising that most of the birds found in Ceylon are the same
as. Or are closely related to those found in India. Of the three hundred &
ninety eight birds listed in Ceylon, one hundred & thirty four are resident
both in India & Ceylon. One hundred & fifty two species visit Ceylon in
their thousands, during the winter moths only, that is during the months which
have an “r” to escape the northern winters, living in Ceylon jungles, swamps,
lagoons & paddy fields.
Examples of birds indigenous to Ceylon are:
the Ceylon blue magpie, spotted wing thrush, Ceylon warbler, Ceylon grackle,
yellow eared & black headed bulbuls, Ceylon large white-eye, legge’s
flower-pecker, yellow- fronted barbet, red-faces Malkoha, Ceylon lorikeet,
Ceylon jungle fowl & Ceylon spur fowl.
Birds found only in the low country of
Ceylon include. The Ceylon large parakeet, the rose-ringed parakeet, green
bee-eater & most storks, plovers, sun birds & sand pipers. Those that
flourish in the cool climate of the hills include the blue magpie,
yellow-earned bulbul, Ceylon warbler, grey wagtail, Ceylon Munia, hill swallow
& the mountain eagle.
The bulbuls, babblers, wood peckers,
barbets & parrots are resident birds. Many kind of flycatchers, warblers,
all the wagtails, the Indian Pitta & most of the shore birds (plovers,
snipe & sand-pipers) are winter migrants.
The Ceylon little minivet is found all
over the island except in the highest mountains. It is a brightly colored bird
which lives among the tree tops. The orange minivet is found mainly in the
hills & is a beautiful sight. The spotted wing thrush, which is found only
in Ceylon, lives in the jungle in the both low-country & the hills, it
sings beautifully.
Paradise flycatchers are known for their
beauty, long tails & jaunty crests. The white-browed flycatchers dance in a
very pretty manner & sing a quaint little tune.
Ceylon black headed oriole is one of the
best known of our birds. Its lovely colors & rich notes are characteristic.
The Ceylon swallow & the hill swallow are resident birds. But the East
Asian swallow comes to the island in a large numbers from countries north of
India..
These are a variety of Ceylon woodpeckers.
They lay their eggs in the hole which they dig in trees of palms. Barbets are brightly-colored
fruit-eating birds of the tree tops. The Ceylon small barbet (Mal Kottoruwa) is
sparrow-size & is found throughout the low country wet zone & in many areas
of the dry zone & lower hills. The barbets, like woodpeckers, dig
nest-holes in the dead trunks & branches. The Indian Pitta comes to Ceylon
from India during the North-East monsoon.
The pin-tail snipe nests in northern
India & comes to Ceylon in large numbers about September, departing in
April. Ceylon is ricy in beautiful kingfishers. They live mainly on fish which
they catch by plunging in to ponds or streams.
Of the cuckoo family, the beautiful
red-faced Malkoha is found only in Ceylon jungles.
The commonest owl in Ceylon is the
collared scopes owl. Ceylon has many numbers of the pigeon tribe. There are
three kinds of fruit eating pigeons: the pompadour green pigeon, the Ceylon
orange- breasted green pigeon & the Ceylon yellow-legged green pigeon. The
Ceylon ash dove is found almost everywhere except in the highest hills.
The Ceylon jungle fowl is a handsome
bird but is getting scarce with the opening of the jungles for food production.
It is found only in Ceylon. The Ceylon spur fowl is also found only in Ceylon.
The Indian pea fowl is found wild in
many of the dry zone scrub-jungles of Ceylon. The male spreads the fans of his
tail to dazzle in the sun. Its cry is a loud trumpet-like scream.
The mud flats of the especially in areas
uninhabited by man abound in storks, herons, spoonbills, egrets, flamingoes,teal,duck terns &
gulls.
