Roseate Turn - Sterna dougallii, Udawalawe National Park, Sri Lanka.

A brood of Pea-fowls - Pavo cristatus, Udawalawe National Park, Sri Lanka.

The cry of 'maeyoe' 'maeyoe' repeated loudly is heard in this shrub jungle. Very often you come across them on the roadway. If disturbed near a nest they will launch an attack and will try to peck out the eyes of a threatening human being. The Dutch loved their meat and slaughtered them by the hundreds. The Shah of Persia of an earlier era slaughtered a thousand of them to collect their feathers, to decorate the throne of a thousand year dynasty. The lard from their flesh is applied on the skin in the belief that it will promote bone healing in a fracture.
The pea-cock is the 'Vaahana' - vehicle of Lord Skanda and hence is not harmed by the local population. It is by law a protected animal in Sri Lanka.

Malabar Pied Hornbill - Anthracoceros coronatus, Udawalawe National Park, Sri Lanka.

We spotted a tribe of these on the branches of a dead tree inside the Udawalawe National Park. Drs. Wignaraja, Kaluaratchi, David, Peter and Mick were with me in the Safari Jeep when we spotted them. I took these photos with a Nikon D90 using a 70 to 300 D lens with vibration reduction on. The shot was taken hand-held from the Jeep.

A Pea-cock - Pavo cristatus courting, Uda-walawe National Park, Sri Lanka.

We waited nearly fifteen minutes watching this display. We moved on before it ended. I wonder whether the male attained its purpose. 

Common Tailor-bird - Orthotomus sutorius, Home garden, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

Birds in a Paddy field, Tissa, Sri Lanka.

'Black-winged Stilt' - Himantopus himantopus.

Stilt and 'Black-headed Ibis'.

Black-headed Ibises - Thrskiornis melanocephalus, Deberawewa, Sri Lanka.

Greater Coucal - Centropus sinensis, Avissawella, Sri Lanka.

Useful because it eats up the snails and molluscs in the garden. It is a danger to the chicks of other birds. It raids the nests just before the chicks take flight and has a good meal of the chicks.