A 'Red-vented Bulbul', Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

The commonest bird next to the crow in Avissawella. Very plucky and playful. If a ripe banana fruit is left uncovered on a table they will cry with glee and start pecking into it leaving the mate as a look out. They nest on trees. Predators like the cat-snake ('Garandiya' S- 'Saarai' T) and the Coucal ('Aeti kukula' S-'Senpadaham' T) occasionally eat the young ones. The lower picture shows a fledgling learning to fly, a time when they are most vulnerable to predators..