Annotated checklist of vagrant Waders ( Family: Scolopacidae and Family: Charadriidae) of Sri Lnaka

      Birds that appear outside their normal range are known as vagrants. This post summarizes up to date published sight records of vagrant waders (Also known as "Shorebirds") belong to Scolopacidae(Sandpipers and allies) and Charadriidae (Plovers) families in Sri Lanka. 

1) Sociable Lapwing [Sociable Plover] (Vanellus gregarius)

W.A. Cave reported it first time in Sri Lanka in 1907. According to him 7 Black-sided or Sociable lapwings (Chettusia gregaria) observed at racecourse during December 1906 and January 1907. “They were very tame and allowed riders to come quite close before taking wing.” (Cave, W.A. 1907). Since then he had only seen a solitary example at the same place in January of 1911(Cave, W.A. 1912). In 1931 Wait noted that few birds used to turn up nearly every year on the racecourse at Colombo (Wait 1931:338). A flock of 12 birds were reported from Wilpattu National Park during September 1972 (Phillips 1978:25 & Hoffmann, T. W. 1974)

      2)Wood Snipe (Gallinago nemoricola)

Wood Snipe was first recorded as having occurs in Sri Lanka from Nuwaraeliya by Hugh Nevill, of the Ceylon civil service, merely saying that, it is found in the “the country  round Nuwara Eliya” (Legge 880:1065). Nevill found it among low bushes at the edge of swampy Patana lands (Nevill, H. 1867-1870). Then after there were several sightings and some birds shot around Nuwaraeliya Lake and Horton plains were doubtfully identified as Wood snipe (Phillips 1978:31). Such as J. Ryan in 1907 reported a sighting of Solitary or Wood snipe only once at Thalawakele (Ryan, J. 1907). However there is a reference of shooting a Wood Snipe in a flooded uncultivated paddy field near Kekirawa on the 12^th December 1943 by G.H. Villers.(Villiers, G. H. 1944) He further stated that description and measurements of the specimen are exactly match with that given in Waits ‘Ceylon birds’. However Waits’s appeal of sending head and wing to the Museum if any snipe shooter come across a large snipe (Wait 1931: 368),  was never answered and Phillips repeated it in 1950 again (Phillips, W. W. A.  1950). There is a recent sight record of a single bird at Ambewela in December 1982 (Hoffmann, T. W. 1983).

      3) Swinhoe's Snipe (Gallinago megala)

A Snipe shot in 7^th April 1934* at Maduramadu tank near the road from Madawachchiya to Mannar by R.H. Spencer Schrader of Negombo and sent to W.E. Wait was identified as a Swinhoe's Snipe and it is the first instance of its occurrence in Sri Lanka though there were some time to time references by snipe-shooters of a snipe larger than Pintail (Wait, W. E., 1936 & Anon. 1946). Second occurrence of it is two birds shot in a paddy field at Bandaragama by E.C. Fernando Jnr. on the 28^th December 1966 (Phillips 1978:32). Another bird was shot by K.F. Dallas in the fields by Periyakulam north of Trincomalee at the beginning of April 1970 (Cameron, R.Mcl.L. 1970.)

* Exact date of shooting is rather confusing. It was 8^th April 1934 according to the Wait (Wait, W. E 1936) but Phillips give it as 12^th April 1934 (Phillips W. W. A. 1940) and again April 1939 and April 1954 (Phillips, W. W. A., 1950 & Phillips, W. W. A., 1978 respectively) While R.H. Spencer Schrader himself given it as 7^th April 1934 (Anon. 1946)

      4) Great Snipe (Gallinago media)

On the evening of 15^th December 1940 E.C. Fernando secured a bird first time from Ceylon a few miles inland from Kalutara south. He shot two but was only able to collect one which was flushed from long grasses (Phillips, W. W. A. 1941). Second specimen of it is also from E.C. Fernando who collected a single bird at a paddy field near Nadimala - Dehiwela on 1^st January 1950. (Norris, C. E. 1950 & Phillips, W. W. A. 1950). Third record is also from west coast on January 1953 (Ebbels, D.L., 1961). Mawell A. Joshep accompanied by Paul M. Modder shot a female bird about a mile from Kurunegala town on 1^st April 1961. T.S.U de Zilva confirmed the identification and latter also by C.E. Norris. (Modder E., 1961 & Ebbels, D.L., 1961). In recent time a possible Great snipe was seen at Sansthapitiya tank in March 1995 (Hoffmann, T. W. 1996)

      5) Asian Dowitcher (Limnodromus semipalmatus)

It was first time recorded in Sri Lanka in July 1982 by a foreign ornithologist C. Brewster at Hambantota (Hoffmann, T. W., 1983). The second record of it is from Bundala National Park in November 2002 (Siriwardana, U., 2003). 

      6) Red-necked Stint [Rufous-necked Stint/Eastern Little Stint] (Calidris ruficollis)

It is first time recorded in Sri Lanka by Rex I. De Silva in 11^th February 1996 at Bundala salt pans (De Silva, R.I. 2001). Single bird in breeding plumage was observed among large flock of Little stints. Second sight record is from Kirinda Kalapuwa in December 1997 by Deepal Warakagoda (Hoffmann, T. W. 1999). Later on sights records are – Single bird from Bundala National Park on February 1999 (Warakagoda, D. 2000), single bird from Yala Block 1 on February 2002 (Siriwardana, U. 2003) and two From Palatupana on September 2004 (Siriwardana, U. 2005). Another sighting at Bundala salterns by Deepal Warakagoda and John Sutherby posted in CBC web site on 10th February 2013 (http://www.ceylonbirdclub.org/the_ceylon_bird_club_news.php)

      7) Sharp-tailed Sandpiper [Asian Pectoral Sandpiper] (Calidris acuminata)

W.W.A Phillips procured a specimen of adult female on 18^th September 1955*  at Embililala lagoon of Bundala National Park. While collecting it was feeding busily with large flocks of Curlew-Sandpipers, Little Stints and lesser number of Wood-Sandpipers, Marsh -Sandpipers and several other waders in the shallow water. It was the first occasion of Sharp-tailed Sandpiper recorded in Sri Lanka (Phillips, W. W. A. 1956). It was again reported during December 1998 migratory season from Karagan Lewaya by Jagath Gunawardana and from Kirinda by Deepal Warakagoda. Chandra Jayawardana also reported it from Bundala in the same season (Warakagoda, D. 1999 & Maduranga, H. G. S. 2002). Sujan Maduranga Henkanaththegedara reported another sight record of a juvenile bird on 2^nd March 2001 from Maha lewaya - Hambantota (Maduranga, H. G. S. 2002). It was feeding in shallow waters of one of the two canals which bring water to the Maha lewaya from the sea with a group of waders that consisted of Marsh sandpipers, Common Redshanks, Black-winged Stilts and some Little stints. In November 2005 one bird was observed at Wirawila (Sirivardana U. & Warakagoda  D. , 2006). A sighting at the Vankalei Sanctuary is given in the Report of CBC for 2008-2011(Warakagoda D. & Sirivardana U., 2011), probably the same sighting posted in CBC web site on 28th December 2011 ([http://www.ceylonbirdclub.org/the_ceylon_bird_club_news.php]) as reported by Kithsiri Gunawardena, Deepal Warakagoda and Uditha Hettige.

*  1953 - Probably a wrong year is given in Phillip's own later on reference of the same sighting. see Phillips, W. W. A. 1978:33

      8) Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus)

1978 February – Dr. Ben king, an American ornithologist reported a single bird from Bundala National Park for the first time in Sri Lanka (Hoffmann, T. W. 1979). Another bird was observed in the November of the same year at Bentota beach (Hoffmann, T. W. 1979). Kotagama and Ratnavira noted several sightings since 1978 (Kotagama S. & Ratnavira G. 2010: 223)

      9) Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficollis)

It was first time collected at Kalamatiya in March 1960 by Dr. T.S.U de Silva (Reported in Loris and JBNH) and another one was observed near Trincomalee in November 1974 by J.C. Sinclair an ornithologist from Durban, South Africa (Hoffmann, T. W. 1975 & Phillips, W. W. A. 1980). Single bird was observed at Embilikala kalapuwa in January 1985 (Hoffmann, T. W. 1986)

Unconfirmed vagrants:

Species for which there are only one or two sight records exist categorized here as unconfirmed vagrants. Problematic records without sufficient details are also included.

      10) Grey-headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus)

Kithsiri Gunawardena observed a Grey-headed Lapwing first time in Sri Lanka at Tirukkovil during the water bird census of 2003 (Warakagoda, D. & Siriwardana, U., 2004). Second record in the country according to the CBC is from Palatupana recorded during 2009 water bird census conducted in January/February (Siriwardana, U. and Senanayake T. 2010). However Kotagama & Ratnawira 2010 noted another sight record from Bundala referring Perera T. 2005.

      11) Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus)

The sight record from the Chilaw sandpits on 10^th January 1993 by Rex I. de Silva and Lester Perera is the only recorded occurrence of this wader in Sri Lanka. (De Silva R.I & Perera l. 1993). However as per Wijesinghe 1991 it is a sight record of inadequate or otherwise problematic (Ranasinghe, D. B. 1997)

      12)Oriental Plover (Charadrius veredus)

First recorded by Deepal warakagoda in 24^th January 1994 at Kirinda lewaya (Hoffmann, T. W. 1995) Second record in Sri Lanka is the single bird recorded with a photograph from Kalametiya by Pathmanath Samaraweera in 2006 (Siriwardana, U. 2007)

     13) Little Curlew (Numenius minutus)  

Single sight record by A.J. Vincent at Hambantota is the only record. (Kotagama S. & Ratnavira G. 2010: 214). Probably the same sighting recorded in 12th March 1994 under ‘List of Rejections’ of CBC (http://www.ceylonbirdclub.org/List-of-Rejections.pdf)

     14) Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris)

Reported a single bird first time in Sri Lanka on 13^th February 1985 at Koggala. Second sight record is from Ambalangoda-Hungama road, again a single bird on 15^th April 1994. Both reports were categorized under ‘List of Rejections’ of CBC (http://www.ceylonbirdclub.org/List-of-Rejections.pdf). However Kotagama S. & Ratnavira G. 2010 mention about several sight records base on personal communication of Rex I. De Silva and the first sight record published in CBCN 1985, Feb: 13.

     15) Spotted Greenshank [Nordmann’s greenshank/Armstrong’s Sandpiper] ( Tringa guttifer)

It was recorded first time in Sri Lanka from the tidal mudflats off the northern margin of Hevativu Island at the southern end of Puttalam lagoon on 23rd February 1991 by Rex. I. De Silva (De Silva, R.I. 1992).

However CBC decided to remove it from Sri Lanka list as having been accepted on misleading data (Warakagoda, D. 1999 & http://www.ceylonbirdclub.org/Appendix-II.pdf)

      16) Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria)

Only record is the observation made by a group of British and American ornithologists at Bundala in December 1979 of 20+ birds of both Solitary sandpiper and Wilson’s phalarope (Hoffmann, T. W. 1980).  Solitary sandpiper breeds in North America and considered as a rare stragglers in Europe. Occurring of them in our region was explained as the result of taking of wrong western route along the pacific in their southward winter migrations. However later on John and Judy banks came up with acceptable evident with field observations that those birds are not Solitary Sandpipers but Green Sandpipers which is very similar in the field and can be easily misidentified by an observer who is not familiar with Green Sandpipers but Solitary Sandpipers as with those American bird watchers (Banks, J. & Banks, J. 1981)

      17) Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)

Sight record of A.J. Vincent at Yala in March 1993 is the only record so far of the occurrence of Spotted Sandpiper in Sri Lanka (Kotagama S. & Ratnavira G. 2010: 219).

      18) White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis)

Sight record at Thennadi Bay in October 1980 is the only record so far of the occurrence of White-rumped Sandpiper in Sri Lanka (Kotagama S. & Ratnavira G. 2010: 222 Quoting CBCN 1980, Oct: 50).

      19) Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)

Sight record of Alan wheeldon of an adult bird in non-breeding plumage at Weerawila in March 2002 is the first and only record of it in Sri Lanka (Siriwardana, U. 2003 & Kaluthota C.D. & Kotagama S.W. 2009)

      20) Wilson's Phalarope (Steganopus tricoor)

Only record is the observing of 20 + birds of both Solitary sandpiper and Wilson’s phalarope at Bundala by British and American ornithologists in December 1979 (Hoffmann, T. W. 1980). However later on John and Judy Banks suggested with acceptable evident that these birds might be swimming Marsh Sandpipers and it is hardly to be Wilson’s Phalaropes (Banks, J. & Banks, J. 1981). So it is most unlikely that American migrant birds which have never been observed anywhere in Asia would suddenly appearing in Sri Lanka just when a party of American bird watchers are here to identify them (Hoffmann, T. W. 1981)

      21) Red Phalarope [Grey Phalarope] (Phalaropus fulicarius)

Single sight record at Hambantota in November 1985 is the only record available of its occurrence in Sri Lanka (Kotagama S. & Ratnavira G. 2010: 225 Quoting CBCN 1985, Oct: 50). This sight record of a single bird at Karagan lewaya on 16^th November 1985 is listed under Appendix 2 of CBC country list (http://www.ceylonbirdclub.org/Appendix-II.pdf) since report lacks sufficient diagnostic detail or, where necessary, sufficient comparison with ‘confusion’ species or subspecies; and there is therefore doubt as to the identification of the birds concerned.

References:

Anon. 1946. Bird Notes. Loris. 4(2):330-333.

Banks, J. & Banks, J. 1981. Wilsons Phalarope or Marsh Sandpiper. Loris. 15(6):345-346.

Cameron, R.Mcl.L. 1970  Notes from the Ceylon Bird Club-1969/70. Loris. 12(1):62-63.

Cave, W.A. 1907 Rare Colombo birds. Spolia Zeylanica. 5(17):65

Cave, W.A. 1912 The birds of Colombo. Spolia Zeylanica. 8(30):94-115.

de Silva, R.I. 1992. First Record of Nordmann's Greenshank Tringa guttifer from Sri Lanka. Loris. 19(6):195-196.

de Silva, R.I. & Perera, L. 1993. The Long -Billed Plover Charadrius placidus - A first record from Sri lanka. Loris. 20(2):52-53.

de Silva, R.I. 2001. The Rufous - necked Stint (Calidris ruficollis) in Sri Lanka. Loris. 22(5):48.

Ebbels, D.L 1961 Notes from Ceylon Bird Club January-June 1961 Loris 9(2) 115-16

Hoffmann, T. W. 1974. Notes From The Ceylon Bird Club 1970-1973. Loris, 13(4), 211-214.

Hoffmann, T. W. 1975. Notes From The Ceylon Bird Club, 1974. Loris, 13(5), 275-276.

Hoffmann, T. W. 1978. Bird Club Notes (1977). Loris, 14(5), 289-290.

Hoffmann, T. W. 1979. Note from the Ceylon Bird club 1978. Loris, 15(1), 6-8.

Hoffmann, T. W. 1980. Notes from the Ceylon Bird Club 1979. Loris, 15(3), 157-159.

Hoffmann, T. W. 1981. Notes from the Ceylon Bird Club 1980. Loris, 15(5), "283-284,292".

Hoffmann, T. W. 1983. Notes from the Ceylon Birds Club. Loris, 16(3), 132-134.

Hoffmann, T. W. 1986. Notes from the Ceylon Bird Club 1985. Loris, 17(3), 99-101.

Hoffmann, T. W. 1995. Ceylon Bird Club Notes 1994. Loris, 20(5), 226-227.

Hoffmann, T. W. 1996. Ceylon Bird Club Notes 1995. Loris, 21(1), 16-18.

Hoffmann, T. W. 1999. Ceylon Bird Club Notes, 1997. Loris, 22(1), 57-58.

Kotagama, S., Ratnavira, G. 2010. An illustrated Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka. Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka, Colombo.

Legge V., 1880. A History of the birds of Ceylon  1983 second edition.

Maduranga, H. G. S. 2002 Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Calidris acuminata (Horsfield) 1821; a sight record at Maha Lewaya, Hambantota District Sri lanka Naturalist 5(1): 08-10

Modder E. 1961 The Great Snipe Loris 9(2) 135-36

Nevill, H. 1867-1870. Description of two birds new to the recorded fauna of Ceylon. J. Roy. Asiatic Soc. (Cey. Br.), 4(14), 138-140.

Norris, C. E. 1950. Migrants, 1949-1950. Loris, 5(4), 171.

Perera T. 2005 Are those birds "Grey Headed Lapwings" ? Malkoha 27(1):3.
Phillips, W. W. A. 1940. The Occurrence of Swinhoe's snipe (Capilla Megala) in Ceylon Loris 2(2) 124

Phillips, W. W. A. 1941. Ornithological observations part 2 Loris 2(4) 234-237

Phillips, W. W. A., 1950. The Mystery Snipe. Loris, 5(4), 174-175

Phillips, W. W. A. 1956 The Siberian pectoral sandpiper Erolia acuminata - A new addition to the avifauna of Ceylon Spolia Zeylanica 28(1)

Phillips W.W.A., 1978. Annotated checklist of the Birds of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1978 revised edition.

Phillips, W. W. A. 1980. The Avifauna of Sri Lanka. Spolia Zeylanica, 35, 155-202.

Ranasinghe, D. B. 1997. Gaps on Field data for Sri Lankan Birds. Loris, 21(4), 170-172.

Ryan, J. 1907. The birds of Dimbulla. Spolia Zeylanica, 5(17), 13-16.

Siriwardana, U. 2003. Report from the Ceylon Bird Club for 2002. Loris, 23(3&4), 36-39.

Siriwardana, U. 2005. Report from the Ceylon Bird Club for 2004. Loris, 24(1&2), 33-35

Siriwardana, U. 2007  Report of the Ceylon Bird Club 2006 Loris, 24(5 & 6), 50-56

Siriwardana, U. and Senanayake T. 2010 Sri Lanka Waterbird census 2009 and 2010 Loris, 25(5), 34-36

Villiers, G. H. 1944 Capella nemoricola. Loris, 3(4), 137.

Wait W.E., 1931. Manual of the Birds of Ceylon. 2nd edition. Colombo Museum.

Wait, W. E., 1936 Occurrence of Capella Megala Swinhoe in Ceylon Spolia zeylanica 19 337-338

Warakagoda, D. 1999. Ceylon Bird Club Notes,1998. Loris, 22(2), 33-34.

Warakagoda, D. 2000. Report from the Ceylon Bird Club for 1999. Loris, 22(4), 23-25.

Warakagoda, D. & Siriwardana, U., 2004. Report from the Ceylon Bird Club for 2003 Loris, 23(5&6), 37-41

Warakagoda D. & Sirivardana U., 2011. Report from the Ceylon Bird Club for 2008-2011, Loris 26 (1&2)

Annotated checklist of vagrant Pelicans(Family: Pelicanidae) of Sri Lanka

Birds that appear outside their normal range are known as vagrants. This post listed up to date published sight records of two *unconfirmed vagrants of the family Pelicanidae(Pelicans) in Sri Lanka.

* Species for which there are only one or two sight records exist categorized here as unconfirmed vagrants. Problematic records without sufficient details are also included.

      1) Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus)

T.W. Hoffmann after having correspondences with T.J. Roberts on his reference of Dalmatian pelican from Sri Lanka in ‘Birds of Pakistan’ (1991) which was based on Robert’s own observation of 2 pelicans at Yala in 1982 those were definitely not Spot-billed; concluded that those pelicans were most likely of this species (Hoffmann, T. W., 1993). According to the bird club notes; above mentioned sight record was recorded in 14^th February 1982 in Yala block 1 (Hoffmann T. W. 1993 & http://www.ceylonbirdclub.org/Appendix-II.pdf). CBC currently categorized Great White Pelican as a species of less likely occurs because above report lack sufficient diagnostic details or, where necessary, sufficient comparison with ‘confusion’ species or subspecies. According to the Kotagama & Ratnavira there is only one sight record of this pelican from Yala in February 1992. (Kotagama S. & Ratnavira G., 2010: 181 based on the CBCN 1992, May: 66). It might be a confusion of above sight record of February 1982 and Bird club notes on 1992.

      2) Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus)

Single sight record by A.J. Vincent at Hambantota in March 1994 is the only record of its occurrences in Sri Lanka. (Kotagama S. & Ratnavira G., 2010)

References:

Hoffmann, T. W. (1993). Notes from the Ceylon Bird Club, 1992. Loris, 20(1), p12-14.

Kotagama, S., Ratnavira, G. 2010. An illustrated Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka. Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka, Colombo.

Annotated checklist of vagrant Doves and Pigeons (Family: Columbidae) recorded in Sri Lanka

    Birds that appear outside their normal range are known as vagrants. This post summarizes up to date published sight records of vagrants of the family Columbidae (Doves and Pigeons) in Sri Lanka.

     1)Pale-capped Woodpigeon [Purple Woodpigeon] (Columba punicea)

Single specimen collected by Layard from Sri Lanka is deposited in Poole museum.He remarked that it is but rarely a visitant of the island and believed it occurs during the fruiting season of cinnamon trees (Legge V., 1880:906). While doubting that it visits only during the fruiting season of cinnamon, since visit of it does not occurs annually Legge noted a sight of a flock of brown color pigeons on cinnamon bushes near Borella in latter end of 1869 about the size of the present species. Since there is no other species which would answer the description he concluded that it might be a flock of Purple Woodpigeons. (Legge V., 1880:906) Kotagama and Ratnavira noted few sightings (Kotagama S. & Ratnavira G. 2010: 238 Quoting CBCN 1983, May:18)

     2)Red Collared-dove [Indian Red Turtle-dove] (Streptopelia tranquebarica tranquebarica)

Layards procured half a dozen specimens of this tiny turtle-dove from a small breeding colony in a Palmyra and coconut palm tope, in the middle of a parched plain between Point Pedro and the Jaffna/Chavakachcheri area (Legge V., 1880: 921-22). Neither Layards nor any other observer met with them nesting in Jaffna or any other area of the country then after. Wait believes that Layard’s finding was probably occurred during April (Wait W.E., 1931: 299). It was not recorded since then till single adult male was collected on the 24^th November 1951, near Panama, on the east coast (Phillips W.W.A., 1978: 44 quoting Phillips W.W.A., 1952 checklist:53). Recently Vimal Tirimanna and Anura Ratnayake reported a sight record of possible juvenile female Red Collared-dove from Kithulgala - rather unusual place than its previous occurrences- on 10^th March 1996 (Tirimanna, V., 1996) Two birds were also observed at south of Arugam bay in October 2005 by Uditha Hettige and Chinthaka de Silva (Sirivardana U. & Warakagoda  D. , 2006.)

References:

Kotagama, S., Ratnavira, G. 2010. An illustrated Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka. Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka, Colombo.

Legge V., 1880. A History of the birds of Ceylon  1983 second edition.
Phillips W.W.A., 1978 Annotated checklist of the Birds of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1978 revised edition.

Sirivardana U. & Warakagoda  D. , 2006. Report from the Ceylon Bird Club for 2005 Loris 24(3& 4), 24 - 28

Tirimanna, V., 1996. A Red Turtle Dove (?) At Kithulgala. Loris, 21(2), 48-49.
Wait W.E., 1931. Manual of the Birds of Ceylon. 2nd edition. Colombo Museum.

Annotated checklist of Vagrant Old World Warblers (Family: Sylviidae) recorded in Sri Lanka

    Birds that appear outside their normal range are known as vagrants. This post summarizes up to date published sight records of vagrants of the family Sylviidae (Old World Warblers) in Sri Lanka.
   
  Confirmed vagrants

     1) Broad-tailed grassbird (Schoenicola platyurus)

Legge found a single specimen of this bird in British museum which was procured by Hugh Cuming [A well known collector of shells and other natural history specimens] from Ceylon. He doubted it as a straggler in Sri Lanka and gave a most probable place where this bird can be occurred since once he met with a bird with similar disposition, which has never before seen in Ceylon from that place. The place he mentioned is Muthurajawela marsh which he described as “great swamp lying between the Negombo canal and the highroad to that place from Colombo”(Legge V. 1880:694-95). Wait while assuming it as a rare resident species writes: “Messrs. Cave [Walter A. Cave] and Symons [C.S. Symons] believe they once saw two specimens in lantana scrub near the government bunglows in Colombo”(Wait W.E., 1931). Phillips mentioned about two more rather doubtful sight records in 1939. Single bird at Gammaduwa in the East Mathale hills and another two birds on a hillside at Waitalawa, Nugatenna,( 2500ft), in the Rangala hills to the North of Kandy. Both of above instances birds were observed in tall ‘Mana’ grass.(Phillips W.W.A., 1978:79). Wijesinghe discussed the evidence related to the specimen mentioned by Legge and concluded that there would seems to be little or no ground for including it in the Sri Lankan list (Wijesinghe, D. P., 1983). However base on Phillips sight records (Those were reassured to Wijesinghe by Phillips himself by a letter stating that he is almost certain of identification) and several other circumstantial evidence he discussed in his paper suggested that this species could be an occasional visitor to Sri Lanka (Wijesinghe, D. P., 1983) Ranasinghe (Ranasinghe, D. B., 1997) believes it as a probable vagrant to low lands and lower hills.

Unconfirmed vagrants:

Species for which there are only one or two sight records exist categorized here as unconfirmed vagrants. Problematic records without sufficient details are also included.

     2) Pale-footed bush-warbler ( Cettia pallidipes )

Single sight record at Kandy in March 1993 by A.J. Vincent is the only record (Kotagama S. & Ratnavira G., 2010:287)

     3) Lanceolated Warbler (Locustella lanceolata)

A sight record by Deepal Warakagoda of a single bird at Bellanwila-Attidiya marsh in 12^th October 1991 is the only record of the occurrence of Lanceolated Warbler in Sri Lanka (Warakagoda, D., 1992). It remained there till the end of April/early May of 1992 (Hoffmann, T. W., 1993)

     4) Dusky Warbler (Phylloscopus fuscatus)

Deepal warakagoda, U.Sirivardena and Kithsiri Gunewardena recorded it first time in Sri Lanka in March 1999 near Pugoda (Warakagoda, D., 2000). Second sight record is also by Deepal Warakagoda in January 2000 at Bellanwila-Attidiya marsh (Senanayake, N., 2001).

5) Western Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus typicalis)

First time recorded by Deepal Warakagoda and Paul Holt on February 2010 at Sigiriya (Warakagoda D. & Sirivardana U., 2011)

      6) Green-crowned Warbler [Golden-spectacled Warbler] (Seicercus burkii)

Sight record from Sigiriya in March 1993 by A.J. Vincent is the only record of occurrence of Green-crowned Warbler in Sri Lanka (Kotagama S. & Ratnavira G. 2010: 291)

     7) Grasshopper Warbler [Common Grasshopper Warbler] (Locustella naevia)

First sight record of Grasshopper warbler in Sri Lanka is from the Bellawila-Attidiya marsh in 4^th December 1993 by Jagath Gunawardana (Hoffmann, T. W., 1994).  It was recorded again on 15^th Oct 1994 at the same location by Deepal Warakagoda (Hoffmann, T. W., 1995)

     8) Small Whitethroat [Desert Whitethroat] (Sylvia  minula)

Probable sight of the Desert lesser Whitethroat (Sylvia curruca minula) in the year 1996 is noted in the reviews of Ceylon bird club notes for 1996 (Hoffmann, T. W., 1997).  It was reported from Embilikala in November 1996 by Deepal Warakagoda (Kaluthota C.D. & Kotagama S.W. 2009 Quoting Warakagoda D., 2000a)

References:

Hoffmann, T. W., 1997. Ceylon Bird Club Notes 1996. Loris, 21(3), 112-113.

Hoffmann, T. W., 1995. Ceylon Bird Club Notes 1994. Loris, 20(5), 226-227.

Hoffmann, T. W., 1994. Ceylon Bird Club Notes, 1993. Loris, 20(3), 107-109.

Hoffmann, T. W., 1993. Notes from the Ceylon Bird Club, 1992. Loris, 20(1), 12-14.
Kaluthota C.D. & Kotagama S.W. 2009. Revised Avifaunal List of Sri Lanka, Occasional Paper No.02, October 2009, Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (Downloaded from http://www.fogsl.net/Prod/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Checklist-ver-7.pdf)
Kotagama, S., Ratnavira, G. 2010. An illustrated Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka. Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka, Colombo.
Legge V., 1880. A History of the birds of Ceylon  1983 second edition.
Phillips W.W.A., 1978. Annotated checklist of the Birds of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1978 revised edition.
Ranasinghe, D. B., 1997. Gaps on Field data for Sri Lankan Birds. Loris, 21(4), 170-172.
Senanayake, N.. 2001. Report from the Ceylon Bird Club for 2000. Loris, 22(5), 43-44
Wait W.E., 1931. Manual of the Birds of Ceylon. 2nd edition. Colombo Museum.

Warakagoda D., 2000. Report from the Ceylon Bird Club for 1999. Loris, 22(4), 23-25.

Warakagoda D., 2000a First record of Desert Whitethroat Sylvia (curruca) minula in Sri Lanka, CBCN Aug:134-137

Warakagoda, D., 1992. The Lanceolated Warbler (Locustella lanceolata): A new Species for Sri Lanka With two other rare warblers. Loris, 19(5), 166-168.

Warakagoda D. & Sirivardana U., 2011. Report from the Ceylon Bird Club for 2008-2011, Loris 26 (1&2)
Wijesinghe, D. P., 1983. Notes on some Rare Sri Lanka Birds -1. Loris, 16(4), 205-208.

Vagrant Cuckoos (Family: Cuculidae) recorded in Sri Lanka

Birds that appear outside their normal range are known as vagrants. This post summarizes up to date published sight records of vagrants of the family Cuculidae (Cuckoos) in Sri Lanka.

1) Asian Emerald Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx maculatus)

Peter Brown in his “New Illustration of zoology” figured this cuckoo stating that his specimen of the “spotted curucui” as having been sent from Ceylon by governor Loten (Legge V., 1880: 309 & Phillips, W.W.A., 1948). Legge remarked that “It has not, to the best of my knowledge, since been met with or heard of even in the island”. However type description of the Emerald cuckoo based on above painting (Phillips, W.W.A., 1948). Although several authors on Sri Lankan avifauna mention that Loten’s is the only record of its occurrence in Sri Lanka, Hue Nevill has given a sighting of an adult male near Rane, in the south-east Sri Lanka in 1866 (Wijesinghe, D. P., 1983 & Nevill, H., 1887). There is a recent sight record also of it in Sri Lanka by Upali Ekanayake in 2004, single bird in January and another (Probably the same bird?) in February at Sigiriya (Siriwardana, U., 2005)

     2) Lesser Coucal (Centropus bengalensis)

Occurrence of this Coucal in Sri Lanka is base on a single specimen found by A.L. Butler in a collection of a native dealer, procured in the North Western province in April 1896. Wait doubted Lesser Coucal as a possible rare resident (Wait W.E., 1931:220).  Later on Philips noted a rather doubtful sight record in the jungle near Valaichchenai in the Eastern province in February 1947 (Philips W.W.A., 1978: 50). He believed it as a rare vagrant to the low-country dry zone. Ranasinghe also considered it as a possible rare vagrants to low lands (Ranasinghe, D.B., 1997)

References:

Legge V., 1880. A History of the birds of Ceylon  1983 second edition.

Nevill H., 1887. Ornithological notes (Ceylon). Taprobanian, 2(5), 131-132.

Phillips W.W.A., 1978 Annotated checklist of the Birds of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1978 revised edition.

Phillips W.W.A., 1948. Cuckoo problems of Ceylon. Spolia Zeylanica, 25(2), 45-60.

Ranasinghe, D. B., 1997. Gaps on Field data for Sri Lankan Birds. Loris, 21(4), 170-172.

Siriwardana, U., 2005. Report from the Ceylon Bird Club for 2004. Loris, 24(1&2), 33-35.

Wait W.E., 1931. Manual of the Birds of Ceylon. 2nd edition. Colombo Museum.

Wijesinghe, D. P., 1983. Notes on some Rare Sri Lanka Birds -1. Loris, 16(4), 205-208.

Annotated checklist of vagrant Storks, Herons and Egrets (Family: Ciconiidae and Ardeidae) recorded in Sri Lanka

    Birds that appear outside their normal range are known as vagrants. This post summarizes up to date published sight records of vagrants of Ciconiidae and Ardeidae families (Storks, Herons and Egrets) in Sri Lanka.
   
  Confirmed vagrants 

      1) Black Stork (Ciconia nigra)

W.W.A Philllips’s sight record of two birds at the Bagura , South of Pottuvil on the 20^th March 1938 and again few days later at another inundation at Helawe, both near Kumana is the first record of Black Stork in Sri lanka (Phillips W.W.A., 1940).  Second sight record was reported by C.V. Seneviratne in 1998, again a pair of birds from a marshy land near Aruvakkalu, adjacent to the Kala Oya estuary of Southern most boarder of Wilpattu National Park (Seneviratne C.V., 2000). Third sight record is from a place which is fairly inland unlike two previous occasions by W. L. D. P. T. S. D. A.  Goonathilake during the biodiversity survey of the Kala Oya basin in December 2003. He observed a single bird while perching on a Kumbuk tree at the edge of the Kok-maduwa village located near the southern bank of Rajangane reservoir. (Goonathilake, W. L. D. P. T. S. D. A., 2006). Fourth sight record is from Maduru Oya National Park on 21^st April 2004 by Dinesh Eransaka Gabadage (Gabadage D.E., 2007). He also reported two birds in a partially inundated area close to the Maduru Oya reservoir.

       2) White Stork (Ciconia ciconia asiatica)

According to the Legge, Bligh met with a single bird in beginning of 1879 at Yala and subsequently after receipt of Bligh’s record, Parker informed of his observation of several at the tank of Nikawaratiya, where it appeared to be breeding in company with egrets and herons. However Legge doubted Parker’s identification since White stork doesn't breed anywhere in India and he was of the idea that Parker may have been mistaken it with Pelican-Ibis (i.e. Painted Stork) (Legge V., 1880: 1470). Col. R. C. Wall reported another sighting again at Yala on 13^th August 1961 and another one was observed by Osmar Ismail in a paddy field, 10 miles from Anuradhapura on the Maradankadawela roadside during February 1975 (Phillips W.W.A 1978: 9). Next sight record is also from  a paddy field near Anuradhapura by a Dutch ornithologist during March 1976 (Hoffmann, T. W., 1977) Finally there is a sighting of a single bird at Kalamatiya on March 1985[Third sight record according to the Hoffman] (Hoffmann, T. W., 1986)

     3) Great Bittern [Eurasian Bittern] (Botaurus stellaris stellaris)

A live specimen of a Great bittern was handed over to the Zoological garden, Dehiwela by Sarath Kumara of Panadura on 14^th October 1985. It did not feed in captivity and dead on the 16^th morning. Later on it was handed over to the museum and preliminary identification of it as Great bittern made at the zoo was confirmed at the Museum. (Gunawardene, W. T. T. P., & Wijesinghe, D. P. 1985)

     4) Goliath Heron [Giant Heron] (Ardea goliath)

First time recorded from Sri Lanka in 4^th April 1878. It was shot by Le Mesurrrier on the banks of the Mahawelliganga, a few miles above Kandakardu in the Tamankada pattuwa (Legge V., 1880: 1474-75). Again a female was procured in the beginning of 1879 at Palatupana by Exham Swyny. Another bird probably its mate, being seen about the same time at Willapalawewa(Legge V., 1880: 1474-75). According to the Wait all 2 or 3 available specimens obtained from Sri Lanka are of immature birds (Wait W.E., 1931:426). In February 1975 single bird observed at Kokkari villu in Wilpattu by D. Summers-Smith from the UK (Hoffmann, T.W., 1976)) and another single bird in a small tank near Habarana in February 1979 (Hoffmann, T.W., 1980)

Unconfirmed vagrants:

Species for which there are only one or two sight records exist listed here as unconfirmed vagrants. Problematic records without sufficient details are also included.

    5) Chinese Pond Heron (Ardeola bacchus)

First time recorded by Dieter Zingel (Germany) on 30^th April 1995 at Debera wewa (Hoffmann, T. W., 1996). Later on sight record(s) by Rex. I. de Silva (Kotagama S. & Ratnavira G. 2010: 176)

References:

Gabadage D.E., 2007 Sight record of a Black Stork Ciconia nigra at Maduru Oya Siyoth 2(2) :44

Goonathilake, W. L. D. P. T. S. D. A., 2006 Third sight record of the Black Stork Ciconia nigra from Sri lanka Siyoth Vol 1 34-35.

Gunawardene, W. T. T. P., & Wijesinghe, D. P., 1985). The Eurasian Bittern: An Additional to the list of Sri Lanka Birds. Loris, 17(2), 52-53.

Hoffmann, T. W., 1996. Ceylon Bird Club Notes 1995. Loris, 21(1), 16-18.

Hoffmann, T. W., 1986. Notes from the Ceylon Bird Club 1985. Loris, 17(3), 99-101.

Hoffmann, T. W., 1980. Notes from the Ceylon Bird Club 1979. Loris, 15(3), 157-159.

Hoffmann, T. W., 1977. Notes from the Ceylon Bird Club 1976. Loris, 14(3), 154-156.

Hoffmann, T. W., 1976. Notes from the Bird Club 1975. Loris, 14(1), 35-36.

Kotagama, S., Ratnavira, G. 2010. An illustrated Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka. Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka, Colombo.

Legge V., 1880. A History of the birds of Ceylon  1983 second edition.

Phillips W.W.A., 1978 Annotated checklist of the Birds of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1978 revised edition

Phillips W.W.A., 1940. Ornithological observations Loris 2(3) 169 – 175

Seneviratne, C.V., 2000. The second sight record of Black Stork Ciconia nigra from Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Naturalist. The Journal of the Young Zoologist Association. 3(1): 1-2

Wait W.E., 1931. Manual of the Birds of Ceylon. 2nd edition. Colombo Museum.

Annotated checklist of vagrant Ducks(Family:Anatidae) of Sri Lanka

    Birds that appear outside their normal range are known as vagrants. This post listed up to date published sight records of vagrants of the family Anatidae (Ducks) in Sri Lanka.

    Confirmed vagrants

    1) Fulvous Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna bicolor)

First reference of its occurrence in Sri Lanka is from Wait (Wait W.E., 1931:447). He noted about few specimens once obtained near Mannar and a single sight record from Balapitiya in Southern province. He further noted that he had been told of a sighting of it near Giant’s tank (Wait W.E., 1931:447). C.E. Norris wrote in 1951 that Fulvous Whistling Duck has been recorded as a breeding resident though not recent reports have been received regarding its status. And he suspected that it may still breeds on some of larger tanks and has been overlooked (Norris, C. E., 1951). There is an unconfirmed report of a small flock in Wilpattu National Park in 1962 (Savage, C. D. W. ,1968) and another sight record at Andankulam tank near Tricomalee in the last week of February 1967 (Phillips W.W.A, 1978:11). Some recent sight records of it are 
  1) Single bird at Bellanwila-Attidiya on December 1990 (Hoffmann, T. W., 1991),
  2) Single bird at Ridiyagama on December 1992 (Hoffmann, T. W. , 1993)
  3) Two birds at Wilmitiya tank on March 1995 (Hoffmann, T. W., 1996) 
  4) Two ducks counted during 15^th annual waterfowl census conducted in January 1998 (Hoffmann, T. W. 1998)

    2) Greylag Goose (Anser anser rubrirostris)

Single specimen of small, young male procured by then museum collector in March 1922 from a paddy field about 6 miles from Kesbewa of Colombo district is the only instance of its occurrence in Sri Lanka. It was feeding with two others at the time (Wait W.E., 1931:444). Phillips noted of "non authenticated sight records during recent years from Hambantota and Jaffna areas of parties of Geese". Those he believed as possible vagrants of either this species or Bar-headed goose (Anser indicus) (Phillips W.W.A, 1978:11)

    3) Ruddy Shelduck [Brahminy Duck] (Tadorna ferruginea)

Vincent Legge noted an observation of a pair at the ‘long lagoon which runs inland from Mullaittivu’ by Capt. Wade-Dalton of the 57^th Regiment during February 1876 (Legge V., 1880: 1404). Flocks of 8 observed at Rufouse kulam lagoon on the east coast by Iris Darton on her visit to Arugambay on 4-5 visits on March of 1948 (Phillips, W. W. A., 1948) and solitary bird was seen at Hambantota 2-3 times during 1949-50 migrate season. (Norris, C.E., 1950). In 29^th November 1974 a pair reported from Malala lewaya by K.G.H. Munidasa (Hoffmann, T. W., 1975 & Phillips W.W.A. 1978:12). Subsequent sight records are -

•     During the survey of migratory waterfowls in Sri Lanka Anthony Powel observed 2 ducks on  the edge of the Jaffna lagoon near the Vaddukoddai jetty (Kayts islands road to abandoned ferry point) on 29^th January 1984 (Powell, A., 1984,  Hoffmann, T. W., 1985a &                Hoffmann, T. W., 1985)
•     Single female was observed in the Jaffna during 1989 waterfowl census conducted by CBC in  January 1989 (Hoffmann, T. W., 1989)
•     During the 7^th annual waterfowl census in 1990 observed 3 in Vankalai of Mannar. [It is the  5^th record of this duck ] (Hoffmann, T. W. 1990 & Hoffmann, T. W., 1991)
•     Single bird from Bundala during 2009-2010 migrate season (Warakagoda D. & Sirivardana U., 2011) See also - http://www.jetwingeco.com/newsletter/october-2009-january-2010 and http://www.lakdasun.org/forum/index.php?topic=1293.0 
•      Moditha Kodikara Arachchi recorded 3 birds at the Vankalai Sanctuary on 8.2.2015. (http://www.ceylonbirdclub.org/the_ceylon_bird_club_news.php)

    4) Gadwall (Anas strepera strepera)

Single specimen collected at Palatupana of Hambantota district is the first report of its occurrence in Sri Lanka. (Wait W.E., 1931:450). Single duck seen at Bundala in early January of 1984 by Robert Tolk a Dutch visitor is the 2^nd record of it (Hoffmann, T. W., 1985a) & Hoffmann, T. W., 1985). Kotagama & Ratnavira mention about a sight record in 1993 quoting CBCN 1993, Jan: 01 (Kotagama S. & Ratnavira G. 2010: 159).  Two birds were seen at Mannar area during the 2003 water bird census. (Siriwardana, U., 2003). It is the 4^th record of it in Sri Lanka (Warakagoda, D., 2004)

    5) Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)

First record of Tufted Duck in Sri Lanka is the specimen of a male taken from a small flock of 30-40 birds on a tank near Dandagamuwa by H.G. Pandittesekera in 4^th February 1949 (Phillips  W.W.A., 1949 & Savage, C. D. W. ,1968). Two male birds also observed by R. Mc. L. Cameron on 4^th February 1962 at Giant tank of Mannar (Phillips W.W.A, 1978:13)

Unconfirmed vagrants:

Species for which there are only one or two sight records exist categorized here as unconfirmed vagrants. Problematic records without sufficient details are also included.

    6) Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos)

In his monograph on Sri Lankan birds Vincent Legge had added a note on Mallard stating– “I have sportsman’s authority for the occurrence of the Mallard (A.boschas, Linn.) in the Jaffna district; but I am inclined to think that the Indian Wild Duck has been mistaken for it” (Legge 1880: 1426). W.W.A. Phillips also included it in his article supplied to Loris volume 4 on ducks, stating that it is possibly a rare winter straggler to some of the coastal lagoons in the West and South (Phillips, W.W.A., 1948) though he excluded it from his annotated checklist of the Birds of Ceylon (Phillips W.W.A, 1978). Kotagama S. & Ratnavira G. noted a recent sight record of a single bird at Kalamatiya on 19^th January 1986 (Kotagama S. & Ratnavira G. 2010: 160 quoting CBCN 1986, Jan: 04). However CBC listed it in their Appendix 1 (http://www.ceylonbirdclub.org/Appendix-I.pdf) under the criteria ‘It is likely to occur as a migrant in Sri Lanka, and is reported with sufficient detail, but also could be of domesticated or captive origin in Sri Lanka’

    7) Marbled Teal (Marmarnetta angustirostris)

Three unconfirmed but independent reports of sightings in January 1984 are the only record of occurrence of Marble Teal in Sri Lanka (Hoffmann, T. W., 1985a) & Hoffmann, T. W., 1985). The first was reported from Deberawewa and Bundala area, second from the Chilaw and the third again from Deberawewa. In all three cases observers were not familiar with the duck and looked it up in guides and came to the conclusion that it is this duck. In the first instance the identification was confirmed by a foreign visitor familiar with the species(Hoffmann, T. W., 1985a). CBC has listed these sight records under Appendix 2 of its country list (http://www.ceylonbirdclub.org/Appendix-II.pdf)) under the criteria of the reports ‘lacks sufficient diagnostic detail or, where necessary, sufficient comparison with ‘confusion’ species or subspecies; and there is therefore doubt as to the identification of the bird concerned’.

    8) Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina)

Base on Layard’s information Legge doubtfully added this species to his list. According to the Legge, Layard has observed two or three pairs through his telescope for several weeks on a piece of brackish water between Jaffna and Chavagacherry. Layard also got a confirmation from a native by showing a head of F.rufina (i.e. N.ruffina) which he received from Calcutta. It was identified by that native as a bird which he is familiar with and had killed on that very piece of water though he had not seen them elsewhere.  Layard had also written to Legge subsequently that he is sure he identified the bird correctly (Legge V., 1880: 1428-1429). Layard’s observation was made in 1854 and later on it has certainly been seen at Hambantota (Savage, C. D. W., 1968 & Phillips, W.W.A., 1948)

    9) Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)

Vincent Legge noted this species as a likely to occur one in Ceylon based on information he received from the Varian of the public work department. A duck with “Canvas-back” which Varian had shot on Topoor tank may have been a Common or red-headed Pochard (Anas ferina) according to the Legge. (Legge V., 1880: 1430).  Other than that up to date no other observation of it has been reported in Sri Lanka. 

References:

Hoffmann, T. W., 1998. The 1998 Waterfowl census in Sri Lanka. Loris, 21(5), 204-209.
Hoffmann, T. W., 1996. Ceylon Bird Club Notes 1995. Loris, 21(1), 16-18.
Hoffmann, T. W., 1993. Notes from the Ceylon Bird Club, 1992. Loris, 20(1), 12-14.
Hoffmann, T. W., 1991. Notes from the Ceylon Bird Club, 1990. Loris, 19(3), 103-105.
Hoffmann, T. W., 1990. The 1990 Waterfowl census in Sri Lanka. Loris, 19(1), 38-41.
Hoffmann, T. W., 1989. The 1989 Waterfowl Census in Sri Lanka. Loris, 18(4), 160-164.
Hoffmann, T. W., 1985a. The 2nd Duck count in Sri Lanka. Loris, 17(1), 19-24.
Hoffmann, T. W., 1985. Notes from the Ceylon Bird Club 1984. Loris, 17(1), p10-12.
Hoffmann, T. W., 1975. Notes From The Ceylon Bird Club, 1974. Loris, 13(5), 275-276.
Kotagama, S., Ratnavira, G. 2010. An illustrated Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka. Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka, Colombo.
Legge V., 1880. A History of the birds of Ceylon  1983 second edition.
Norris, C. E., 1951. Decrease of Wildfowl. Loris 6(1), 315-317.
Norris, C. E., 1950. Migrants, 1949-1950. Loris, 5(4), 171.
Phillips W.W.A., 1978 Annotated checklist of the Birds of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1978 revised edition
Phillips W.W.A., 1949 The Tufted Duck Loris 5(1), 88.
Phillips W.W.A., 1948. Ducks 1947/48. Loris, 4(6), 498 - 504.
Powell, A., 1984. A Survey of Migratory Waterfowl in Sri Lanka. Loris, 16(5), 260-263.
Savage, C. D. W., 1968. Wetlands and wildfowl of Ceylon. Loris, 11(3), 147-150.
Siriwardana, U., 2003. The 2003 Waterbird Census in Sri Lanka. Loris, 23(3&4), 32-35.
Wait W.E., 1931. Manual of the Birds of Ceylon. 2nd edition. Colombo Museum.
Warakagoda D. & Sirivardana U., 2011. Report from the Ceylon Bird Club for 2008-2011, Loris 26(1&2), 46-50
Warakagoda, D., 2004. Report from the Ceylon Bird Club for 2003 Loris, 23(5&6), 37-41