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/
An outstanding set of pics. The location is a bit exotic for my budget unfortunately : -(
My gallery here
Checkout the forums' Community HOMEPAGE for lots of interesting posts from other members.
Thanks very much everyone for your lovely comments :)
OK, last additions now, reptiles and inverts. Arachnophobes and ophidiophobes should probably not scroll down any further! Some could use IDing/ID confirmation if anyone knows - RoyW? This is I think Neptis hylas or 'Common Sailor'.
A hesperid butterfly of some kind...
and a satyrid...
and a lycaenid! I thought this looked very like Long-tailed Blue but maybe there are other possibilities...
Three dragons that didn't make it into the first post.
Mahoosive spider, which we were told was a female Giant Wood Spider.
Very small crab on the beach. Not sure how IDable it is. There were lots of these, popping in and out of their burrows in the sand.
This rainforest lizard, we were told, is a 'kangaroo lizard'.
And the name we were given for this beautiful small rainforest snake was 'Common bronze-backed tree snake'.
This one's 'hump-nosed lizard' apparently - also in the rainforest.
This is a Water Monitor, stunning large lizard with beautiful markings on its body, but I couldn't get a decent angle for a photograph.
And one last lizard, this one in a town rather than the rainforest so it's probably something very common.
Just to show it wasn't all about wildlife (although it was 95% about wildlife...) I'll end with a few landscapey shots :)
Stunning photos Aiki, love them all but I'll never learn all those names for butterflies and other species; love that hump nosed lizard; The landscapes are truly amazing, you've captured this island well on camera with all the wonderful scenery, wildlife and birds; more please LOL !
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Regards, Hazel
aiki said:Some could use IDing/ID confirmation if anyone knows - RoyW?
I can help with the dragonflies - looks like you have:
Scarlet Basker (Urothemis signata), Indigo Dropwing (Trithemis festiva), and Slender Skimmer (Orthetrum sabina).
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I missed your last installment, aiki. Beautiful shots of the dragons and lizards. Amazing variety of exotic creatures you saw and I bet there were masses you didn't see. I don't suppose a week was nearly long enough.
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Tony
My Flickr Photostream
Thanks folks, and thanks v much for the IDs, Roy :) A week was nowhere near long enough!
Sorry aiki I have not kept up with this thread as well as I would have liked to for obvious reasons, but what is truly amazing is how much you did manage to see in just a week.
Regards Shane
My Photos in Flickr.
Simply stunning, and I was brave and even managed the *pider :) very glad I did, I can also see why a week is not enough.
Caroline in Jersey
Cin J