They fly so high, you never even notice the beauty they project because we are so busy with our social and smart phones while taking a morning walk. But if "we stop and smell the roses" as the saying goes you will be able to see these lovely creatures in your daily walks and may be even in your back garden if you have one.
Junior Observer wants to bring to your attention the beauty of nature and how we can help clean the environment and give due notice to these birds.
There are many birds sanctuaries across our little island. Kumana is situated in the East Coast, Bundala, Kalamatiya are in the southern coast. Sinharaja Rain Forest, Udawatta Kele, Horton Plains, Bellanwila, Muthurajawela, Minneriya, Kitulgala, Minipe, Yala and Udawalawe National Parks are other important bird-watching locations. In addition you can see birds throughout the country in pockets of forests, lakes, lagoons and river sides during your travel.
Ashy-headed laughingthrush
The ashy-headed laughingthrush is a rangy bird, 23 centimetre (9 in) in length with a long floppy tail. It is rufous brown above and deep buff below, with a grey head and white throat. Like other babblers, these are noisy birds, and the characteristic laughing calls are often the best indication that they are present, since they are often difficult to see in their preferred habitat.
The ashy-headed laughingthrush is a resident breeding bird endemic to Sri Lanka, its habitat is rainforest, and it is seldom seen away from deep jungle or dense bamboo thickets in the wet zone. This species, like most babblers, is not migratory, and has short rounded wings and a weak flight.
Although its habitat is under threat, this laughingthrush occurs in all the forests of the wet zone, and is quite common at prime sites like Kitulgala and Sinharaja. It builds its nest in a bush, concealed in dense masses of foliage, the normal clutch is three or four eggs.
Common woodshrike
The common woodshrike (Tephrodornis pondicerianus) is a bird species found in Asia. It has been placed in the cuckoshrike (Campephagidae) and helmetshrike (Prionopidae) families in the past and is now considered a member of the family Tephrodornithidae. It is small and ashy brown with a dark cheek patch and a broad white brow.
It is found across Asia mainly in thin forest and scrub habitats where they hunt insects, often joining other insectivorous birds. The form found in Sri Lanka which was treated as a subspecies is now usually considered a separate species, the Sri Lanka woodshrike. Usually found in pairs, they have a loud whistling song made of several notes. The usual call is a plaintive weet-weet followed by a series of quick whi-whi-whi-whee? They have a loud song consisting of several rapid whistling notes. They feed on mainly on insects and sometimes berries by gleaning mostly along branches and leaves within trees but sometimes also make aerial sallies or descend to the ground. They have a habit of adjusting their wings, raising them over the tail shortly after alighting on a perch. They nest in summer before the rainy season, building a cup nest on a bare fork. The nest is made of fibres and bark held by cobwebs and covered with bits of bark and lichen.
It is lined with silky plant fibres. Three eggs are the usual clutch. Both parents incubate but it is thought that only the female feeds the young. Young birds are fed on insects and berries. Two broods may be raised in some years.
Crimson-fronted barbet or Ceylon small barbet
The crimson-fronted barbet or Ceylon small barbet or small barbet (Psilopogon rubricapillus) is an Asian barbet endemic to Sri Lanka. The Malabar barbet endemic to the Western Ghats of India used to be treated as a subspecies of this species. Barbets and toucans are a group of near passerine birds with a worldwide tropical distribution. The barbets get their name from the bristles which fringe their heavy bills.
The crimson-fronted barbet is an arboreal species of open woodland which eats fruit and insects. It nests in a tree hole, laying 2-4 eggs.
This is a small barbet at 15 cm. It is a plump bird with a short neck, large head and short tail. The adult crimson-fronted barbet has a mainly green body and wing plumage, a blue band down the side of the head and neck and a black crescent behind the eye.
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