I'm just back from a week in Sri Lanka, which was an absolute wildlife-watcher's and photographer's dream. Leading on from this thread: http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/wildlife/f/1920/t/101029.aspx - some more wildlife from this gorgeous island. Some of the little critters I haven't IDed yet, so apologies in advance for that. And I've only had a fleeting look at the photos so will probably add more over the next few days :)
Crested Serpent-eagle. A quite common big raptor. Other birds of prey seen were Black Eagle, Shikra, Shaheen, White-bellied Sea Eagle.
Whiskered Tern. Lots of these, both by the seaside and at inland lakes.
Red-wattled Lapwing. Saw these most places, they like to fly about shrieking hysterically and sound just like terns, which is confusing.
Coppersmith Barbet. 'Coppersmith' from the tapping sound it makes, 'Barbet' from its bristly beard. Saw just the one of these, near Sigiriya.
Peacock. Photographed in the same area as the barbet, where there were lots of them.
White-browed Fantail. Hyperactive, charming little bird. I have a nice rear-view shot of this species for the bum thread :) This was in the garden at Sigiriya.
White-breasted Kingfisher. The commonest kingfisher in the country. We also saw one Common Kingfisher (same species as in the UK), and Stork-billed Kingfisher.
A few Odonata. The names are my best guesses but I'm seeking confirmation... this is Ictinogomphus rapax (various English names including 'Asian Tigertail'), seen on the south-west coast.
A stunning rainforest damsel - Euphaea splendens.
Maybe Neurothemis tulla. Seen in central areas.
A lovely small damsel. No clue what species it is...
There were swarms of these near the top of Sigiriya. Very active and difficult to photograph. ID?
And another I haven't IDed, by a lake near Dambulla.
Some mammals. I already posted a shot of the endemic forest species Purple-faced Langur on the other thread. I've now realised that the Toque Macaque is also endemic. The macaques seemed to be the commonest monkeys, though we also saw Grey Langurs.
A mad-looking mongoose, which I've tentatively IDed as Ruddy Mongoose... seen in the central lowlands.
Indian Palm Squirrel. All over the place, including town centres.
Spinner Dolphins. Seen from the whale-watching boat, a few miles south of the port at Mirissa. They were part of a pod of about 500, spectacular sight.
I have loads more so will add to this thread later but that's all for now.
My blog: http://mazzaswildside.blogspot.co.uk/
My Flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/124028194@N04/
Thanks, folks. Anyone for any more? Here are a few of the (not wild) elephants at the elephant orphanage at Pinnawala - the keepers take them all down to the river to cool off after breakfast.
And a few more birds - the ubiquitous Indian Pond Heron:
A rare moment of tenderness between a couple of House Crows (similarly ubiquitous):
I was disappointed to only get rubbish photos of this amazing bird - Malabar Pied Hornbill.
Black-headed Munia.
A bit of colour now - Orange-breasted Green Pigeon.
and a lovely Indian Roller.
White-bellied Drongos. I have a great weakness for drongos, they may not be colourful but they are incredibly charismatic - imagine a bird that's half crow and half swallow, with a huge extra dose of charm.
This beauty just wouldn't come out of the shadows/cover for a clear shot. It's a Golden-fronted Leafbird.
We didn't see many seabirds. But there were one or two Flesh-footed Shearwaters loitering around the Killer Whales.
A Sri Lankan street dog. There are dogs wandering about everywhere but most if not all seem to belong to people. They have excellent manners and good road sense.
And, for good measure, a Sri Lankan cat. There are few cats around, again they seemed to be pets rather than ferals.
Almost dark when I took this photo of a Grey Langur, which is why it's so horribly grainy (the photo, not the monkey. The monkey was lovely, though I did wish it would reach out and move that stick in front of its face).
Another insect in need of ID - some kind of bumblebee I guess.
Found this little monster in my room one night. That's not my hand, though the guy whose hand it is seemed a bit reluctant to pick it up until he'd watched it climbing all over my hands first :)
A sunset to finish off this batch :)
Wow, what a brilliant instalment Aiki! Lovely to see photos of the other animals and insects too-and that sunset, so jealous,lol!
Jayne
See my Flickr photos here.
Good stuff, Aiki. Definitely, those young ellies have got the aaaaww factor. I've seen hornbills in Africa - different species of course - but they are rather special. In Australia the term drongo is applied to someone regarded as an idiot or no-hoper - I can't believe the birds fall into that category.
If you've got any more we'd love to see them.
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Tony
My Flickr Photostream
Amazing photos Aiki, just love them all, that leafbird is clever, the elephants the indian roller, things to learn and see, thanks for posting.
Lot to learn
More fantastic photos! It looks as if you can put this down as another successful trip! Let's see some more photos!!
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Wowee!!! Absolutely cracking photos Aiki!! Nice to see some Inverts amongst them too! :-)
The Indian roller is just stunning and love the bee and praying mantis too! Look forward to seeing more! :-)
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
My photos on Flickr
There's more... I'm starting to lose track now so I hope I don't repeat myself! Some dodgy low-light pics in this bunch of birds.
These are Ceylon Swallows aka Sri Lanka Red-rumped Swallows.
A Thick-billed Flowerpecker.
Common Myna.
Yellow-billed Babbler.
Yellow-eyed Babbler.
Another view of the Shaheen, showing its red trousers :)
A White-browed Bulbul.
Spotted Dove.
Common Iora - male then female.
Black-headed Oriole.
White-breasted Waterhen
Indian Swiftlet.
Little Swift.
Brown Fish Owl.
Black-headed Ibis.
Purple-rumped Sunbird.
Little Egret (I know, I know - BOOOORING!)
Brown-headed Barbet.
A VERY distant Spot-billed Pelican.
Red-vented Bulbul.
Blyth's Reed Warbler.
More lovely birds, aiki. I'm a bit of a sucker for these exotic colourful birds so I really like the Ioras, Sunbird, Oriole and Waterhen. The Barbet is a cracker too.
Wow Aiki, these are simply stunning and so very interesting, it will take me at least 4 reads to take everything in LOL and now I know where the Aussie slang of "Drongo" comes from :) I think they have the Spangled Drongo variety out there. You must have taken tons of fantastic photos so maybe a book on Sri Lanka's exotic bird/wildlife could find its way to the shelves soon !!
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Regards, Hazel
Wonderful photos again Aiki, and no the little egret is not in any way boring, just look how you have captured the reflection, - I think it is beautiful. Thanks for posting them all, like Hazy I will be looking over them again in a while.