Monday, January 20, 2014

Frogmouth/මැඩිමුහුණා[madimuhuna] (Batrachostomus moniliger)

Frogmouth is a rare breeding resident found in dense forests and forests edges in all climatic zones while scarce in hills and comparatively common in the wet zone.  It is a strict nocturnal bird and spends the day perch across a branch with beak pointing upwards and the facial plumes erected forwards looking rather like a broken branch. It feeds mainly on insects like beetles. The breeding takes place from January to March and again from August to September. The nest is a small pad set on a horizontal branch, well camouflaged with lichens and barks which support a single egg which is brooded during the day by the male bird (probably the female broods at night - (Henry G.M., 1998))