Fledgeling 'Tailor Bird' waiting for its parents for a meal, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

'Common Tailor-bird' - Orthotomus sutorius, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

Picking worms on a   Brinjal - Egg plant.

'Small minivet' - Pericrocotus cinnamomeus, Dangolla, Kandy, Sri Lanka.

'White-throated Kingfisher' and 'Yellow-billed Babblers', Gampaha, Sri Lanka.

Seated on the branch of a mango tree they ignore the other's presence. The King-fisher was a juvenile awaiting a feed from the parent.

'Black-rumped flame-back wood-pecker' - Dinopium benghalense psarodes, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

 I spotted this wood-pecker by the noise it produced when it was hammering away at the trunk of a 'Veralu' tree. It stayed for quite sometime but I could not get a perfect focus on it. I am sure it will return when I will try again.

'White-throated Kingfisher - Halcyon smyrnensis, Gampaha, Sri Lanka.

Waiting for a Dragon-fly' its main diet.

Making its cry.

Showing off or 'ruffling its feathers'?

Feeding the young.

Video :-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7-Aje23lYY

'House Sparrow' - Passer domesticus indicus, Karandana, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

These birds were numerous a few decades ago in the vicinity of houses in Sri Lanka. They disappeared in large numbers a few years back. Now they are makiing a come-back.

'Cattle Egret' - Bubulcus ibis, Amithirigala, Sri Lanka.

The bird, its shadow, and its reflection in the still water,  are seen clearly in this photo.

I took these photos close to Amithirigala junction, on the road to Hiswella - Nittambuwa, Sri Lanka. These birds are seen  around free roaming cattle and in paddy fields.

'White-breated Drongo., Chilaw, Sri Lanka.

'White-breasted Drongo'

Birds on a paddy-field, Marambe, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

Cattle Egrets, Great Egret and Indian Pond Herons.

The plumage of a Red-vented Bulbul, Karandana, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

Red-vented Bulbul panting on a hot day, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

'Lesser Whistling Duck' - Dendrocygna javanica, Gampaha, Sri Lanka.

In a paddy field at Gampaha, Sri Lanka.

Greater Coucal - Centropus sinensis, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

This is a very shy bird. It is seen early in the mornings picking up and eating the snails in the garden. It watches the nests of birds and attacks and eats the young birdlings from the nests before they learn to fly.

White-throated Kingfisher - Halcyon smyrnensis, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

I saw this bird guarding it's nest built into a cavity in a stone wall. It would chase away any predators with its loud cry. I have seen the parents darting and pecking a large iguanascreaming all the while. The iguana which had a taste for birds eggs beat a hasty retreat in the face of the attack.

Brown-headed Barbet - Megalaima zeylanica, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

The loudest bird in the garden. Makes its loud cry from a tree close by. When it descends to eat the fruits offered it is very silent. It is off in a jiffy if it catches sight of a human closeby.

Bird-life, Varani, Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

Pheasant-tailed Jacana - Hydrophasianus chirurgus, Varani, Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

Black-winged Stilt - Himantopus himantopus, Varani, Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

Birds on the road from 'Mudakkaththaan Santhy' - Vallai to Varani, Jaffna, Sri Lanka.