Monday, March 31, 2014

'Brown-headed Barbet' - Megalaima zeylanica, Home garden, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.





The noisiest bird in the jungles of Sri Lanka. The older generation of bird-watchers could never get a bird-song recorded without the cry of this bird creeping into the audio-recording.

Friday, March 21, 2014

'Oriental Magpie Robin'- Copsychus saularis - bathing, Home garden, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

Deciding on a bath.

'Water must be cold'.

Deciding.

Stepped in at last.


Splashing the water with the wings.

'Time to leave the water'.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Visitors to our home garden, March 2014, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

The 'Drongo' which imitates the mewing of a cat and many other noises.

The 'Oriental Magpie Robin' which has a variety of songs.

The 'House Sparrow' making a come-back after disappearing for a few years.

The 'Common Tailor-bird' flitting from place to place, always on the move.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

'Red-vented Bulbul's' - Pycnonotus cafer's nest, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.




The commonest species in our home gardens has from time immemorial built its nests on the walls of houses. House-holders often keep an empty pot with a hole at the botton hanging on a nail on the outer wall their houses. The nests are often built there by these birds generation after generation. Each new season the birds throw out the old nest and build a new one. The biggest predators who eat the young are the 'Coucal' and the 'Rat-snake'. The parents stand guard all the time taking turns at 'watch-keeping'. The slightest noise makes the chick to open their mouths wide and stretch their necks upwards to receive food from their parents. about 4 feet above the ground where the house-dogs patrolled these nests have been built in a safe place.