Tamil Yeoman/Yeoman (Cirrochroa thais lanka)

An uncommon butterfly found in lowlands to mid hills in all the year round. The male settles on the wet patches to absorb minerals and Ormiston has an interesting observation on this butterfly of thousands of males mud puddling on the first five miles of Wellawaya - Koslanda road in November (Ormistom W. 1924). Larva feeds on Hydnocarpus venenata (මකුළු), Hydnocarpus octandrus and Chlorocarpa pentaschista plants.

පැණි කුරුල්ලා[Pani kurulla]/Purple-rumped Sunbird(Nectarinia zeylonica zeylonica)

Common breeding resident in home gardens, forests and cultivation from lowlands to mid hills while scarce in higher hills. It lives in pairs and visit flowers all day long to feed on nectar.  Also it eats many small insects. Purple-rumped Sunbird breeds from February to June and probably second brood again in August- September. The nest is a small hanging structure from a twig, composed of soft fibers, scraps of lichens etc. bound with cobweb where hen lays two eggs.

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මැල්ල දුම් කොල[Mella-dum-kola]/Star gooseberry/Sweet leaf bush (Breynia androgyna [Syn: Sauropus androgynus])

An indigenous and common shrub of  wet zone forest understory from sea level to about 600m a.s.l. Leaves edible and eaten as vegetable.

Smallest Swift (Panara bada bada)

An uncommon butterfly found in all climatic zones of the island throughout the year. Its larva feeds on paddy (Oryza sativa), Echinochloa crus-galli and Panicum maximum.

Intermediate Egret/Sudu Madikoka/Kuda Sudu Koka (Mesophoyx intermedia)

Intermediate Egret is a common breeding resident from lowlands to the hills excluding north. Paddy fields, marshes, lakes, mangroves and rivers are its habitats where it can be found solitary or as flocks of few individuals. Intermediate Egret feeds mainly on fish but frogs, grasshoppers and other insects are also eaten. It breeds from December to May and the nest built in a heronry usually mixed with other herons and egrets on a tree standing in shallow water. 

Yamfly (Loxura atymnus arcuata)

Locally common butterfly found mostly in southern part of the island from 800 – 2000 ft a.s.l.  It prefers wet dense jungle areas. Larva feeds on young shoots of Smilax zeylanica (හීන් කබරැස්ස), Smilax perfoliata, Dioscorea alata and Dioscorea pentaphylla.

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)

Rather common breeding resident in lowland tanks, marshes and such water bodies while much common in the dry zone and less in wet zone. It is also known as rare breeding resident of higher hills (Warakagoda D. et. al. 2012). It lives as small flocks though solitary birds are sometime seen. Little grebe’s diet consists of small fish, various water insects and prawns. It breeds from December to February and probably again in June. The nest is a floating mass of water weeds where it lays three white eggs. 

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Schneider’s leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros speoris)

Schneider’s leaf-nosed bat is a common insectivorous bat in lowlands and lower hills of the island. It roosts in large colonies in caves and abandoned buildings during the day time and leaves early in the evening to feed on flying beetles, mosquitoes, flies, termites and such other low flying insects. It flies close to the ground among bushes and trees and human dwellings (sometime entering verandas and even rooms to catch small flying insects).  

Common Banded Demon (Notocrypta paralysos alysia)

Rather rare butterfly found in wet zone jungles upto about 1500m a.s.l . It has a rather fast up and down flight with frequently settling on foliages. 

Larval Host Plants

Hellenia speciosa

Alpinia purpurata (Red ginger)

Alpinia zerumbet

Curcuma longa

Curcuma zedoaria

Hedychium coccineum

Hedychium flavescens (Yellow Ginger Lily)

Zingiber cylindricum

Zingiber officinale [ඉඟුරු/Ginger]

Zingiber wightianum

Zingiber zerumbet (වල් - ඉඟුරු/Wild Ginger)

Meistera fulviceps

Scarlet Minivet/Flame Minivet/Orange Minivet (Pericrocotus flammeus)

 Locally common breeding resident of open forest and other wooded areas throughout the country while much common in hills. It lives in pairs or family parties. Scarlet Minivet feeds on caterpillars, crickets and other insects among foliage and follows one another from one tree to other in 'follow my-leader' fashion. It breeds in February-May and again from August to September. The nest is a small cup in the canopy well camouflaged with lichens, flakes of bark etc and composed with lichens bound together with cobweb and lined with dead-leaf midribs, etc.

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Blue Wanderer/Dark Wanderer (Pareronia ceylanica ceylanica)

Rather uncommon butterfly found in low country below 1800 ft a.s.l. all the year round while seldom also flies in the hills.  Its female occurs in three forms and those forms vary greatly in width of blue markings though all of them are darker than the male. One such form mimics poisonous Blue tiger and one of another form mimics Euploea species (Crows) -also poisonous- and by that escape from its predators. Its food plant are Capparis brevispina and  Capparis zeylanica (සුදු වෙළන්ගිරිය) of the family Capparaceae.

කොටිකන් වවුලා[Kotikan Waula]/Great horse-shoe Bat/Lesser Woolly Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus beddomei sobrinus)

Great horse-shoe bat is restricted to forested areas of both wet and dry zone lowlands. However a specimen from Madamahanwara (1077m a.s.l ) was also collected ( Bats of  the Indian Subcontinent – P.j.j. Bates and D.L. Harrison, 1997). It spends the day time hanging by one foot, with their wings wrapped around them in a hollow tree or a small cave. Great horse-shoe Bat lives solitary, in pairs or as small parties of up to three individuals. It emerges in the late evening from its diurnal roost and flies low over the ground among low bushes and along jungle paths in seeking of its prey which consists of beetles, termites and other flying insects. Race sobrinus is endemic to Sri Lanka.

Brown Awl (Badamia exelamationis)

Rather rare skipper found in all elevations of the country in all the year round while scarce in higher hills. It is a migratory species and sometimes appears in great numbers usually in company with Ceylon Banded Awl (Hasora badra lanka) and White-banded Awl (Hasora taminatus taminatus). It is less afraid of sun unlike other two and often visits flowers even on a bright day. The larva feeds on Terminalia bellirica and Hiptage benghalensis.

බෝ[Bo]/Peepal/Sacred Bo (Ficus religiosa)

An introduced tree from Himalayan forests of India to Sri Lanka. Bo is the tree it is said that under which the Lord Buddha attained the enlightenment. A sprig of that same tree was brought to Sri Lanka in the year 288 B.C. and still survives at the Mahamevna garden of Anuradhapura – the ancient capital of Sri Lanka – and which is known as the oldest historical tree. In Sri Lanka it is commonly cultivated at temples, parks, along roads etc. 

නීලකොබෙයියා[Neela-Kobeiyya]/Emerald Dove/Bronze-winged Pigeon (Chalcophaps indica robinsoni)

Common breeding resident of forests and well wooded home gardens and plantations of all climatic zones while rare in higher hills and less common in drier areas. It feeds on various seeds, grains and berries and spends mainly on ground solitary or in pairs. Emerald Dove breeds all the year round but peak in February to March and possibly again in September. The nest is placed in a small tree or bush in jungle usually not very high from the ground where it lays two eggs.

Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa)

Common winter migrant to the coastal areas of the dry zone and also to the some inland water bodies.  During its stay here Black-tailed Godwit inhabits marshes, coastal mudflats, lagoons, paddy fields and tanks singly or as small to large flocks.  Black-tailed Godwit was formerly considered as a rare vagrant but in 1944 W.W.A Phillips recorded 200 to 300 birds at Mullativu lagoon (Phillips W.W.A 1978) and since then it has become a common winter visitor to the island. It breeds in Europe and Western Asia. 

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Dark-glittering Threadtail (Elattoneura centralis)

Locally common damselfly inhabiting forest streams and rivers from low country to mid-hills. 

American mint (Mesosphaerum suaveolens [Syn: Hyptis suaveolens])

An introduced weed common in wastelands, roadsides, coconut plantations etc. from sea level to about 525m a.s.l. It is a native plant of tropical America. 

Bush Hopper (Ampittia dioscorides singa)

Common insect found in lowland paddy fields and grasslands up to about 500 m a.s.l. Its larva feeds on paddy (Oryza sativa),  Leersia hexandra (ලෙව්/Bareet Grass) and also on Carpet grass/පොටු තණකොළ (Axonopus compressus) when offered. 

පේර තඹල[Pera-tambala] (Gaertnera vaginans)

An endemic large shrub grows in primary and secondary forests of moist low country.