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Wildlife Diaries by Ovin De Silva, Kumana (2026)

04/06/2026

Common Redshank(Tringa totanus)
පොදු රත්පා සිලිබිල්ලා

The Common Redshank (Tringa totanus) is a medium-sized migratory wading bird classified within the family Scolopacidae. Morphologically, the species is most uniquely identified by its bright orange-red legs and a straight, slightly conical bill that features a distinct reddish base transitioning to a black tip. While individuals in breeding plumage exhibit marbled brown upperparts with dense, darker streaking and spotting, their non-breeding (wintering) plumage becomes significantly less patterned, characterized by plain greyish-brown upperparts and pale, whitish underparts with fine streaking.

22/05/2026

black-naped monarch (Hypothymis azurea)
කළු-ගෙලැසි රදමාරා
female

The Black-naped Monarch (Hypothymis azurea) is a small, highly
active passerine belonging to the monarch flycatcher family, frequently encountered in the dense forests and well-wooded habitats across Sri Lanka. The resident endemic subspecies, ceylonensis, is distinctly sexually dimorphic; while males exhibit a brilliant, uniform azure blue, females display a more muted blue head and breast that transitions into a greyish-brown mantle and wings, alongside a pale belly. These agile insectivores are known for their restless behavior, constantly flitting through the lower and middle canopy with fanned tails to flush out prey on the wing.

10/05/2026

Black-capped bulbul (Rubigula melanictera)
හිස කළු කොණ්ඩයා

03/05/2026

Malabar Trogon (Harpactes fasciatus)
ලෝහවන්නිච්චා
Male and Female

23/04/2026

Hump-nosed pit viper (Hypnale hypnale9
කුණකටුවා

The Hump-nosed pit viper is a master of disguise in Sri Lanka’s forests. Often hiding perfectly among dry leaves, making it easy to overlook but important to respect. This small viper uses heat sensing pits to detect prey even in the dark, striking with precision. Once considered harmless, it’s now known as a medically important species due to its potent venom. Unlike many snakes, it doesn’t lay eggs. Females give birth to live young, sometimes up to 17 at a time. A perfect reminder that even the smallest creatures in the wild carry both beauty and power

17/04/2026

Cotton Pygmy-Goose(Nettapus coromandelianus)
මල්-සේරුවා
Male and female

The Cotton Pygmy-Goose is a diminutive waterfowl species characterized by its preference for freshwater habitats rich in floating vegetation, such as lilies and marshes. These birds exhibit distinct sexual dimorphism: the males are striking with their brilliant white heads, dark crowns, and bold white wing patches visible during flight, while the females possess a more muted palette featuring a characteristic dark eye-stripe and thin white wing borders. Despite their "goose" moniker, they are agile, small-bodied ducks that are expertly adapted for life in still waters across Asia and Australia, where they forage for seeds and aquatic plants.

15/04/2026

Red-backed Flameback(Dinopium psarodes)
ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගිනිපිට පිළිකෑරලා
Female

The Red-backed Flameback is a medium-sized woodpecker endemic to Sri Lanka, commonly found in gardens and open woodlands but absent from dense tropical forests. It is distinguished from other flamebacks by its vibrant crimson back, dark throat, and the lack of a horizontal black stripe below the cheek. While both sexes possess a striking red plumage, they exhibit sexual dimorphism in their head markings: males feature a full red crown, whereas females have a black forehead speckled with white spots. Frequently identified by its accelerating "ki-ki-ki-ki" call that culminates in a trill, this three-toed species is a prominent fixture of the island’s avian landscape.

13/04/2026

Blue-faced Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus viridirostris)
වත නිල් මල්කොහා

The Blue-faced Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus viridirostris) is a large, shy member of the cuckoo family, characterized by its long, heavy tail and secretive behavior within dense scrub and thorn forests. Its most striking feature is the brilliant, neon-blue patch of bare skin surrounding the eye, which contrasts sharply against its overall dull grey-green and dark olive plumage. Unlike many of its relatives, it is non-parasitic and predominantly terrestrial, preferring to hop and creep through thick tangled vines rather than fly long distances. Its thick, apple-green bill is perfectly adapted for snatching up large insects, caterpillars, and small lizards from the undergrowth, making it a prized sighting for photographers in the dry zones of Sri Lanka and Southern India.

දිගු හා බරැති වල්ගයකින් යුත්, ලැජ්ජාශීලී පක්ෂියෙකි. මොවුන් ප්‍රධාන වශයෙන් වියළි කලාපයේ කටු පඳුරු සහ ලඳු කැලෑ තුළ ජීවත් වේ. මෙම පක්ෂියාගේ කැපී පෙනෙනම ලක්ෂණය වන්නේ ඇස වටා පිහිටි විචිත්‍රවත් නියොන්-නිල් පැහැති සම වන අතර, එය උගේ අළු-කොළ සහ තද ඔලිව් වර්ණයෙන් යුත් පිහාටු සමඟ මනාව කැපී පෙනේ. අනෙකුත් කුකුළු විශේෂ මෙන් නොව, මොවුන් වෙනත් පක්ෂීන්ගේ කූඩුවල බිත්තර නොදමන අතර, වැඩි දුරක් පියාසර කරනවා වෙනුවට පඳුරු සහ වැල් අතර පැන පැන ඇවිදීමට වැඩි කැමැත්තක් දක්වයි. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සහ දකුණු ඉන්දියාවේ වියළි කලාපීය වනාන්තරවල දැකිය හැකි මෙම පක්ෂියා, තම කොළ පැහැති ශක්තිමත් හොට ආධාරයෙන් විශාල කෘමීන්, දළඹුවන් සහ කුඩා කටුස්සන් ආහාරයට ගනී.
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10/04/2026

Sri Lanka Blue Magpie(Urocissa ornate)
කැහිබෙල්ලා

The Sri Lanka Blue Magpie is an endemic bird of Sri Lanka found mainly in primary forests, wet zone regions, and nearby home gardens in foothill areas, and is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List (2007). It is often observed in small feeding flocks of about 6–10 individuals, especially around the buffer zones of Peak Wilderness (Sri Pada Sanctuary) and Sinharaja, although pairs or solitary birds may also occur. This species is highly vocal, producing loud “crakrakrakrak” calls, which has earned it the local name “Kankaarassa” among villagers. It feeds on a wide range of food including insects (such as grasshoppers, beetles, and leaf insects), caterpillars, small vertebrates like frogs and lizards, and fruits. The bird actively forages at all levels of the forest from ground to canopy and builds a crow-like nest on slender trees, usually a few meters above the ground, with breeding typically occurring from January to March.

Sinharaja Rainforest

31/03/2026

Chestnut-backed Owlet(Glaucidium castanonotum)
පිටතඹල උපබස්සා

The Chestnut-backed Owlet (Glaucidium castanonotum) is a small, diurnal owl species endemic to Sri Lanka. It is closely related to the Jungle Owlet but is distinguished by its namesake deep chestnut-brown back and wings, which lack the fine white bars seen on its cousin. Its underparts are white with bold, dark longitudinal streaks, and it features a prominent white patch on its throat. Typically found in the wet zone forests and hilly regions of the island, this owlet is often active during the day, frequently perched high in the canopy where it hunts insects, lizards, and small birds. Its call is a unique, repetitive "kraw-kraw," a sound that is synonymous with the dense tropical rainforests of the country.

පිටතඹල උපබස්සා (Chestnut-backed Owlet) යනු ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පමණක් ආවේණික කුඩා බස්සෙක්. මොහු ප්‍රධාන වශයෙන් තෙත් කලාපයේ වනාන්තර සහ කඳුකර ප්‍රදේශවල දැකගත හැකියි. අනෙකුත් බස්සන් මෙන් නොව මොහු දහවල් කාලයේදී ද ඉතා ක්‍රියාශීලී වන අතර, මොහුගේ පිට ප්‍රදේශය තද තඹ හෝ දුඹුරු පැහැයක් ගැනීම විශේෂ ලක්ෂණයකි. පලතුරු මැස්සන්, කුඩා පක්ෂීන් සහ හිකනලුන් වැනි සතුන් ආහාරයට ගන්නා මෙම පක්ෂියාගේ හඬ තෙත් කලාපීය වනාන්තර තුළ නිතරම අසන්නට ලැබෙන සුවිශේෂී හඬකි.

Wildlife Diaries by Ovin De Silva

04/06/2026

22/05/2026

10/05/2026

03/05/2026

23/04/2026

17/04/2026

15/04/2026

13/04/2026

10/04/2026

31/03/2026

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