මැහෝගනී[Mahogani]/Honduran mahogany(Swietenia macrophylla)

Native plant of tropical America. Introduced to Sri Lanka in 1888 and grown as a timber production tree in forest plantations and home gardens in wet and intermediate zone. 

Mountain Reedling (Indolestes gracilis gracilis)

Locally common damselfly confined to the central hills of the island between 1800 and 2500 elevations. It can be found at grassy edges of lakes and ponds. Indolestes gracilis gracilis is an endemic Sri Lankan subspecies. 

Cup-of-gold (Solandra maxima)

An introduced woody climber native to Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. Cultivated in gardens due to its attractive very large flowers.

Vagrant Finches and Buntings (Family: Fringillidae and Emberizidae) 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 3 vagrants of the family Emberizidae (Buntings) and single vagrant of the family Fringillidae (Finches)  in Sri Lanka. All four are here considered as 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.

     1) Common Rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus)

Single sight record at Horton Plains National Park in February 2002 by Uditha Hettige (Siriwardana, U., 2003).

     2) Grey-necked Bunting (Emberiza buchanani)

C.D. Kaluthota, Dammithra Samarasinghe, Dilshan de Silva and Hasith de Silva observed and photographed a bird at Nirmalapura, Daluwa area of Kalpitiya peninsula on 16^th December 2008. It is the first and only known occurrence of Grey-necked Bunting in Sri Lanka (Kaluthota et. al., 2009)

     3) Black-headed Bunting (Emberiza melanocephala)

Single sight record from Udawalawe National Park in February 2005 by Deepal Warakagoda is the first record of its occurrence in Sri Lanka (Sirivardana U. & Warakagoda  D. , 2006). Second record of it is also given by Warakagoda D. & Sirivardana U. in/near Yala Block 1 in the report of Ceylon Bird Club for 2008-2011 periods (Warakagoda D. & Sirivardana U., 2011)

     4) Red-headed Bunting (Emberiza bruniceps)

Single sight record from Udawalawe National Park in February 2005 by Deepal Warakagoda is the only record of its occurrence in Sri Lanka (Sirivardana U. & Warakagoda  D. , 2006)

References:

Kaluthota, C.D., Samarasinghe, D., de Silva, D. & de Silva, H. 2009 First record of the Grey-necked Bunting Emberiza buchanani from Sri Lanka. Malkoha 30(1):4 

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

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

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

නඟා-මැරූ-අල [Naga-Maru-Ala]/Daffodil Orchid (Ipsea speciosa)

Rather common endemic ground orchid occurs in patana lands  in montane and sub-montane areas. One or two leaves sprout at the end of flowering period and shed when mature, followed by a resting period and after that flowers blooms at the end of spike rising out of the ground among grasses. 

Small Grass Yellow (Eurema brigitta rubella)

Locally common butterfly occurs in grasslands of the hills from 200-2200m asl. Its larva feeds on Chamaecrista leschenaultiana, Chamaecrista kleinii , Chamaecrista mimosoides and Chamaecrista nictitans (All Chamaecrista species are known as බිං සියඹලා in Sinhala)

සප්සඳ[Sapsanda]/Indian Birthwort (Aristolochia indica)

An indigenous twining herb common in low country moist areas up to 1000m a.s.l. Leaves and rhizomes use in traditional medicine. Flowering from September to January.

Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike (Hemipus picatus)

An uncommon breeding resident inhabiting forest and well wooded areas of all climatic zones. But much common in the hills and  more or less restricted to the riverine forests in the dry zone.  It keeps in pairs or groups and often goes with 'Bird waves' of many species. Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike feeds on insects in the canopy. It frequently darting out like 'Flycatchers'  from its perch to catch flying insects. The breeding season lasts from March to May. The nest is a shallow cup made out of fibres, cobwebs, etc., well camouflages outside with fragments of bark, lichens etc. and places on the upper side of a branch high in the canopy. 

සිංහලෙන් කියවන්න >>

හිඟුරු-වැල්[Hinguru-Vel] (Senegalia caesia [Syn: Acacia caesia])

Large indigenous woody climber mainly grows in the dry lowlands of the country though also occurs in waste lands, along rivers and near bridges in the intermediate and wet lowlands.

Common Mime (Papilio clytia lankeswara)

Common Mime is a very common butterfly distributed in all climatic zones from lowlands to about 700m a.s.l. It occurs in two forms 'white' and 'brown'. White form [form dissimilis] mimics one of the poisonous 'Blue Tigers' (Tirumala (1)(2) or Parantica(1)(2)) and Brown form [form clytia] 'Crows' (Euploe spp.(1)(2)(3)(4)) Larval food plants are Litsea glutinosa [බෝ මී], Cinnamomum verum [කුරුඳු], Alseodaphne semecarpifolia [වෑවරණි], Litsea longifolia [රත්කෑලිය] Neolitsea cassia[Wild cinnamon/දවුල් කුරුඳු\කුඩු දවුල] and Cinnamomum dubium of the family Lauraceae

දෙළුම්[Delum]/Pomergranate (Punica granatum)

An introduced shrub or small tree native to central Asia. Widely cultivated as a fruit tree particularly in the low and mid-country. Flowering throughout the year. An outer layer of the seeds is edible. Roots, fruits, barks and leaves medicinal. 

Vagrant Rails and Crakes (Family: Rallidae) 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 Rallidae (Rails and Crakes) in Sri Lanka.     

     1) Water rail (Rallus aquaticus) R.Indicus

3 or 4 specimens procured by Lieut. Long of H.M. Ceylon rifle regiment at Jayelle (Sic = Jaela) paddy-fields and given to Layard is the only record of the occurrence of this rail in Sri Lanka (Legge V. 1880: 1018).

      2) Corn Crake (Crex crex)

Two immature females procured from Bambalapitiya, one by Dr. Thelma Gunawardane from a garden near the sea on 9^th October 1970 and another one in exhausted condition by David Bartholomeusz in the same area on 18^th September 1972 are the only records of Corn Crake in Sri Lanka. Both are believe to be just arrived birds from the Indian mainland (Phillips W.W.A., 1978:23). Another previous sight record exists in 1950 on board a ship close to Ceylon. (Hoffmann, T. W., 1974)

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

Australian bottle plant (Jatropha podagrica)

Native shrub of tropical America. Cultivated in gardens as an ornamental plant especially in the dry areas of the country due to its drought resistance characteristic.

Burmeister's Glider/Keyhole Glider/Saddlebags Glider (Tramea basilaris burmeisteri)

Rather rare high-flying dragonfly occurs in weedy tanks and ponds in the dry lowlands. 

නාග-දරණී [Naga-darani]/Tiger's claws(Martynia annua)

Native plant of Mexico and central America. Introduced and widely naturalized in waste places, along roadsides etc. in the dry areas of the country. Flowering throughout the year. 

Dingy Lineblue (Petrelaea dana)

Dingy Lineblue is rather rare butterfly flies from lowlands to about 500 m a.s.l elevations. Males often settle on damp patches of the roads or stream beds. Hitherto no records available on its early stages of life cycle or on larval host plants in published materials on Sri Lankan butterfly fauna. Recently egg laying and larva feeding on Terminalia catappa (කොට්ටම්බා) flowers were observed by Sujeewa Gunasena (Sujeeva Gunasena ‎ Personal communication, October 28, 2014 &  https://www.facebook.com/kamanijeeva/media_set?set=a.811498772250436.1073741853.100001709620688&type=1&pnref=story)

* Terminalia arjuna (කුඹුක්) is also known as one of its larval host plant.

කොට්ටම්බා/කොට්ටන්[Kottamba/Kottan]/Indian almond/Country almons (Terminalia catappa)

Common tree cultivated as a shade tree in home gardens, roadsides etc. from coastal areas to about 800 m elevations. It is native to Tropical Asia, Northern Australia and Polynesia. Seed edible and leaves medicinal. 

Vagrant Swifts (Family: Apodidae) 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 four unconfirmed vagrants* of the family Apodidae (Swifts ) 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) White-throated Needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus)

Amila Salgado reported a sight record of White-throated Needletail first time in Sri Lanka in Pokunutenna (located in the North-Eastern boundary of the Udawalawe national park) on 22^nd February 2007. He had observed several of them in a flock of swifts which included little swifts, Indian swiftlets and Asian palm swifts. He has also mentioned about a sight record of this swift in 2003 at Sinharaja by a visiting bird watcher though which was not reported formerly (Salgado A., 2007). A sight record of two White-throated Needletails on 19^th February 2003 in Sinharaja is mentioned under ‘List of rejections (after 1990)’ of Ceylon bird club (http://www.ceylonbirdclub.org/List-of-Rejections.pdf). This is probably the same sight record Salgado was referring above.

     2) Pallid Swift (Apus pallidus)

A swift probably of this species was photographed in South-east Sri Lanka (Rasmussen P.C. and Anderton J.C., 2012: 259-260)

     3) Fork-tailed Swift [Pacific Swift/Large White-rumped swift] (Apus pacificus)

First record in Sri Lanka by Deepal Warakagoda from Bundala national Park in 28^th November 1996 (Hoffmann, T. W., 1997 & Warakagoda, D., 1999).  A sight record by M.J. Pointon (UK) at Bentota in December 1997 is the second record of it in Sri Lanka (Hoffmann, T. W., 1999). However another record is given as the second report of it in/near Yala Block 1 by Warakagoda D. & Sirivardana U. in the summery of bird club notes for 2008-2010 periods (Warakagoda D. & Sirivardana U., 2011)

     4) Dark-rumped Swift (Apus acuticauda)

A sight record at Kandy in February 1993 by A.J. Vincent is the only record (Kotagama S. & Ratnavira G., 2010: 257)

References:
Hoffmann, T. W., 1999. Ceylon Bird Club Notes, 1997. Loris, 22(1), 57-58.
Hoffmann, T. W., 1997. Ceylon Bird Club Notes 1996. Loris, 21(3), 112-113.
Kotagama, S., Ratnavira, G. 2010. An illustrated Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka. Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka, Colombo.
Rasmussen P.C. and Anderton J.C., 2012. Birds of South Asia - The Repley Guide Volume 2 Attributes and Status, second edition.
Salgado A., 2007. A sight record of White-throated Needletail Hirundapus caudacutus in Pokunutenna, Sri Lanka Siyoth 2(2): 43.
Warakagoda, D., 1999. Ceylon Bird Club Notes,1998. Loris, 22(2), 33-34.

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

Tamil Bushbrown (Mycalesis subdita)

Tamil Bushbrown is an endemic butterfly occurs in scrublands, home gardens and grasslands in dry and intermediate zones below 750m elevation. It is fond of rotting fruits. Larva feeds on Ischaemum timorense in the field and fed on Panicum maximum(Guinea Grass/රට තණ) and Axonopus compressus (Carpet Grass/පොටු තණ) in the lab when offered.

හීන් එරමිණියා [Heen Eraminiya] (Ziziphus oenopolia)

Common indigenous shrub occurs in forests of dry areas. Flowering from October to March and Fruiting from February to April. Bark, leaves, flowers, fruits and roots are medicinal.