දිය නයා/දියබරියා[Diya Naya/Diyabariya]/Checkered Keelback (Xenochrophis piscator)

A non-venomous, semi-aquatic snake inhabiting streams, rivers, paddy fields, tanks, marshes etc. from lowlands up to about 1200m elevations in the hills. Mainly a diurnal snake though sometime active even during the night. It feeds mainly on frogs and fish. 

Lucky-nut/Yellow oleander (Cascabela thevetia [Syn: Thevetia peruviana])

An introduced tree cultivated in gardens and roadsides. Flowering throughout the year. Native to Central and South America.

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.

පෙනෙල-වැල්[Penela-Wel]/Baloon vine (Cardiospermum halicacabum)

Common climbing herb found in lowland forests and waste lands in both dry and wet zone. Flowers and fruits occurs throughout the year.

ලේ තිත්තයා/දොල තිත්තයා/වයිරන් තිත්තයා/කොන්ඩයා[/Le Tiththaya/Dhola Tiththaya/Vayiran Tiththaya/Kondaya]Cherry Barb (Puntius titteya)

Cherry barb is an endemic fish inhabiting shaded shallow, slow flowing streams with silt substrate and leaf debris in the wet lowlands from Kelani to Nilwala basins up to about 300m a.s.l.  It is not uncommon but becoming rare in most former habitats due to deforestation, pollution of streams and over fishing to export by the ornamental fish traders. It is an omnivorous fish and feeds on detritus, green algae, diatoms, diptera and animal matter (Pethiyagoda, R., 1991). Various color forms are reported depending on the locality.

නාවා [Nawa] (Sterculia balanghas)

Small to medium tree occurs in monsoon forests, along roadsides, rocky outcrops etc. from sea level to about 900m elevation. Also cultivated as an ornamental and as a fence tree.

Sri Lanka Forktail (Macrogomphus lankanensis)

Rather uncommon dragonfly occurs in rivers and stream habitats from lowlands to mid hills. 

මූණ-මල්[muna-mal] (Manilkara kauki [Syn: Mimusops elengi])

A large tree occurs in wet lowland to submontane and montane primary and secondary forests (Introduced ? >>). Often cultivated due to medicinal value of all of its parts. Fruit edible and wood use in constructions. 

Pointed Lineblue (Ionolyce helicon)

Very rare butterfly found in forests and well wooded areas throughout the island, particularly in the wet zone. It settles on the damp earth. The females are much rarer than males. No records available on its early stages of the life cycle. 

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.

Bengal trumpet/Bengal clock-vine/Sky vine/Laurel clock vine (Thunbergia grandiflora)

An introduced plant native to India, Indo-China and Malay peninsula. Very common in home gardens where cultivated as an ornamental vine and also escaped and naturalized in some disturbed areas including secondary forests. Flowering throughout the year.

හුංගා\කහ හුංගා\ලේ හුංගා [Hunga/Le Hunga/Kaha Hunga]/Stinging Catfish (Heteropneustes fossilis)

Stinging Catfish is a common fish of swamps, ponds, and tanks of low country of both wet and dry zone. Sometime it can be found even in brackish water. Copper red color of young fishes (pic above and referred as Rathu Hunga[Red Hunga]) changes to the dark brown with two yellow lateral bands of the adults. Uniform yellow color forms are also occurs (Refers as Kaha[Yellow] Hunga in vernacular language) and assumes as adults in sexual maturity. When handling it can inflict painful wounds by its pectoral spines. Stinging Catfish is an omnivorous fish.

වා/වල්-මුරුංගා[Wa/Wal-Murunga] (Breynia retusa)

An indigenous shrub found in scrublands, roadsides and waste lands and lands bordering the forests and within forests from lowlands to about 1500m elevation.

Asian Slim (Aciagrion occidentale)

Widely distributed insect in sub montane and monatane areas in open grass beside weedy ponds and rank herbage (de Fonseka T., 2000). But probably it has an island wide distribution in suitable habitats, but hardly notice due to its smaller size. Above specimen was photographed in rather lower elevation, a scrub land in Ambagaspitiya (~150m a.s.l.) of Gampaha district.

කෑලිය/කොහු-කිරිල්ල[Keliya/Kohu-kirilla]/Microcos (Microcos paniculata)

An indigenous shrub common in secondary forest and scrublands. 

Ceylon Ace (Halpe homolea ceylonica)

Rather uncommon insect found in wet zone forests from lowlands to mid hills. Larva feeds on Bambusa vulgaris leaves.

Yamazakia pusilla [Syn: Lindernia pusilla]

An indigenous common prostrate to ascending herb grows near paddy fields and tank or pond edges from both wet and dry lowlands to about 1000m altitude.  Flowering throughout the year.

Lowland Hump-nosed Pit Viper/පහතරට මූකලන් තෙලිස්සා[Pahatharata Mukalantelissa] (Hypnale zara)

An endemic snake restricted to the lowland rain forests of the south-western wet zone up to foot hills of the central highlands.  It is a nocturnal snake and during the day time stay hidden under decaying logs and leaf litter on the forest floor. Maduwage K. et al. recorded of a rare occasion of observing this snake on a shrub up to about 60cm above the forest floor. Furthermore according to them Lowland Hump-nosed Pit Viper is absent in anthropogenic habitats. Above specimen was photographed on a banana shrub - considerable height above the ground- But habitat can't be considered as a primary forest though entirely not a home garden ( 6°22'24.18"N,  80°27'8.22"E). Location -though sort of anthopogenic habitat- is very close to the Gin river as well as Sinharaja forest.

Maduwage Kalana, Silva, A., Manamendra-Arachchi, K.& Pethiyagoda, R. 2009 A taxonomic revision of the South Asian hump-nosed pit vipers (Squamata: Viperidae: Hypnale) Zootaxa 2232: 1–28 pp.

අපස්ස වැල්[Apassa wel] (Sabicea ceylanica [Schizostigma hirsutum])

Rather common endemic creeping herb occurs in wet evergreen forests

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.