Youth and Age (Zinnia elegans)

Native herb of Mexico. Introduced as an ornamental plant and cultivated in gardens. Also escaped and perhaps naturalized in the waste grounds and margins of fields. 

Small Buttonquail (Annotated checklist of vagrant Buttonquails(Family: Turnicidae) of Sri Lanka)

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

      1) Small Buttonquail (Turnix sylvaticus dussumier)

Single sight record from the Buttuwa wewa area of the Yala national park in February 1978 by Dr. Ben King, an American ornithologist, is the only record of the occurrence of this bird in Sri Lanka (Hoffmann, T. W. 1979 & Hoffmann, T. W., 1978)

References:
    

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

     Hoffmann, T. W., 1978. New birds in Sri Lanka. Loris, 14(5), 308.

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

Barleria cristata

An indigenous small shrub native to Southeast Asia. Cultivated in gardens. Flowering throughout the year.

Lagenandra koenigii

An endemic semi-aquatic herb occurs in small streams and wet places in the wet zone rain forests. 

Common Grass Yellow (Eurema hecabe simulata)

Common butterfly found in all elevations of the country throughout the year. Common grass yellow is a migratory species. Its larval host plants are

1. Sesbania bispinosa
2. Sesbania grandiflora (කතුරු මුරුංගා/Agati/Vegetable hummongbird)
3. Sesbania speciosa
4. Acacia eburnea (කුකුල් කටු/ගිනි අන්දර/Cockspur Thorn)
5. Acacia leucophloea(මහ අන්දර/කටු අන්දර)
6. Aeschynomene americana (Thornless mimosa)

7. Aeschynomene aspera (මහ දිය සියඹලා/Pith plant/Shola/Shola pith)

8. Aeschynomene indica (දිය සියඹලා/හීන් දිය සියඹලා/Indian jointvetch/Budda pea)
9. Albizia chinensis (කබල් මාර/හුලං මාර)
10. Albizia lebbeck (සූරිය මාර)
11. Albizia odoratissima (සූරිය මාර)
12. Caesalpinia hymenocarpa (ගොඩ වවුලැටිය)
13. Caesalpinia pulcherrima (මොණර මල්/Peacock flower/Paradise flower)
14. Cassia roxburghii (රතු වා/Ceylon cassia/Red cassia)
15. Pithecellobium dulce (මැනිලා සියඹලා/Madras thorn/Manila Tamarind)
16. Senna alata (රට තෝර/Candle bush/Candle stick/Rinworm shrub)
17.  Senna tora (පෙති තෝර/Pot Cassia/Sickle Senna)
18. Vachellia nilotica (කටු කිහිරි)
19. Chamaecrista absus
20. Mimosa diplotricha (Giant sensitive plant/Creeping mimosa)
21. Cassia grandis

Hanging lobster claw (Heliconia rostrata)

An introduced large herb native to tropical South America from eastern Amazon region of Ecuador and Peru. Cultivated in home gardens as an ornamental plant. 

ගස්-නිදිකුම්බා/බින්-නෙල්ලි[Gas-Nidikumba/Bin-Nelli] (Biophytum reinwardtii)

An indigenous herb common on disturbed grounds and shady places from lowlands to mid-hills. 

Rivulet Tiger (Gomphidia pearsoni)

Rivulet Tiger is the biggest of all endemic Clubtails. It occurs in streams, rivulets and rivers in the primary and secondary rain forests and adjacent less disturbed habitats in the central and southwestern part of the island. Distribution records also available from outskirt of Knuckles range and Diyaluma fall area of southeastern mid-hills. 

කෝනිය[Koniya]/Adolfina/Purple-wreath/Queen's wreath/Sandpiper vine(Petrea volubilis)

Introduced woody vine or subshrub native to Mexico and Central America. Cultivated as an ornamental plant.

Malaxis thwaitesii [Malaxis lancifolia]

Very rare endemic terrestrial orchid species growing on rocks along water courses in the wet evergreen lowland forests, up to about 610 m elevations. 

වන හැලපෙන්දා/Forest Wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus)

Common winter migrant occurs in all zones. It can be found in open country and paths close to wooded areas, home gardens, paddy fields, forest margins, etc. as solitary birds, in pairs or as scattered small flocks. However in the evening they flocks to a communal roosting spot. Unlike other wagtails it wags its tail from side to side. Forest Wagtail spend its time mainly on the forest floor in search of foods and flies up into a tree if disturbed. It breeds in the north-eastern parts of the Asia.

Dumbcane (Dieffenbachia seguine)

An introduced large herb native to tropical South America. Cultivated as an ornamental foliage plant and also naturalized in wet places like ditches and canals in the wet lowlands.

Hortonia angustifolia

An endemic small tree locally common along stream banks in wet lowland forests up to about 700 m elevation. Flowering July to November. 

Yellow Palm Dart (Cephrenes trichopepla)

Yellow Palm Dart is a butterfly restricted to the Australian region. It was first recorded in Sri Lanka by Dr. George (Michael) van der Poorten in July 2009. It is believed that it was accidentally introduced to the country by palms brought by horticulture trade. Yellow Palm Dart is now well established in western and Northwestern part of the island. In Sri Lanka its larva feeds on varies palms such as පොල්/Coconut(Cocos nucifera), ඉඳි (Phoenix pusilla) and Saribus rotundifolius. 

Blue crossandra (Pseuderanthemum variabile [Syn: Pseuderanthemum grandiflorum)

Native shrub of tropical Asia. Introduced and cultivated in home gardens as an ornamental.  Flowering probably all year round.

Red cestrum (Cestrum elegans)

An introduced straggling herb native to Mexico. Cultivated as an ornamental plant and also naturalized in the hills, usually along forest margins. 

Lesser Flamingo (Annotated checklist of vagrant Flamingos (Family: Phoenicopteridae) of Sri Lanka)

      Birds that appear outside their normal range are known as vagrants. This post listed up to date published sight records of a single *unconfirmed vagrant of the family Phoenicopteridae (Flamingos) 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) Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor)

Although definite evidence were lacking there were references to the possible presence of Lesser flamingos among Greater Flamingos in Hambantota area in September 1975 (Hoffmann, T. W., 1976). As per Kotagama & Ratnavira only record of Lesser Flamingo migrating to the Sri Lanka is the four birds recorded in a lagoon near Hambantota in 4^th January 1983 (Kotagama S. & Ratnavira G. 2010: 170 Quoting CBCN 1984, Dec: 43). However CBC has listed this sight record under Appendix 2 of its country list (http://www.ceylonbirdclub.org/Appendix-II.pdf)) under the criteria of the 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 bird concerned’. However CBC web site posted a recent sight record on 19th February 2013 of two Lesser Flamingos from Jaffna on the Karainagar Causeway reported by Uditha Hettige, Lester Perera and Udaya Sirivardana (http://www.ceylonbirdclub.org/the_ceylon_bird_club_news.php).

References:

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.

කුකුළු වැල්[Kukulu-Wel](Calamus digitatus)

An endemic liana occurs in forest understorey and forest gaps from southwestern wet lowlands to lower montane forests below 1500 m. Flowering and fruiting occurs sporadically throughout the year.

තාරා මල්[Thaara-mal]/Pelican flower(Aristolochia ringens)

An introduced twining climber native to the West Indies and tropical South America. Cultivated and also locally naturalized in the wet zone.

Sri Lankan Tiger/Monarch (Parantica taprobana)

Sri Lankan Tiger is an endemic butterfly Occurs above 1000 m elevation and common above 1200 m though occasionally found as low as 800 m elevation. It inhabits forests and well wooded hill country home gardens. Larva feeds on Ceropegia elegans, Cynanchum alatum and Vincetoxicum iphisia. Larva also fed on Vincetoxicum bracteatum when offered in the lab and egg laying was observed on Vincetoxicum cordifolium.