දත් කැටිය/වල් ඒකාවේරිය [Dat-katiya/Wal-Ekaweriya] (Ophiorrhiza mungos)

An indigenous herb common in damp places of primary and secondary wet lowland forests. 

Black-headed Cuckooshrike/කලු-හිස් කොවුල්සැරටිත්තා/කලු-හිසැති කොවුල් ඇස්පටියා[Kalu-his Kowulsaratiththa/Kalu-Hisathi Kowul Aspatiya](Coracina melanoptera sykesi)

An uncommon breeding resident inhabiting open forests and scrub lands with scattered trees from lowlands to mid hills. It lives usually as solitary birds or as pairs though sometime encounters as small flocks. It feeds on caterpillars, moths, grasshoppers. etc. actively searching trees in the canopy. The breeding season lasts from March to May The nest is a small shallow saucer  composed of rootlets, leaf midribs etc. plastered with cobwebs and placed on a fork of a tree, where it lays 2 eggs. 

Creeping daisy(Sphagneticola trilobata[Wedelia trilobata])

An introduced procumbent herb native to northern part of South America and the West indies. Naturalized and now a very common weed growing in dense mats along roadsides and waste lands from sea level to about 1500 m elevations. 

Erect spiderling (Boerhavia erecta)

An introduced ascending or decumbent herb common along roadsides and open sandy places, often near coast.

හිරිගඩු පඳුරු මැඩියා[Hirigadu paduru madiya]/Hollow-snouted Shrub Frog (Pseudophilautus cavirostris)

An endemic shrub frog occurs in the south western wet zone including Knuckles range from 30 to 1000 m elevations. It inhabits closed canopy rain forests and occasionally in some anthropogenic habitats. Found on moss-covered rocks, tree trunks and branches as well as inside crevices close to streams.

Nodeweed (Synedrella nodiflora)

Native herb of West Indies. Introduced and now a common weed along roadsides, waste places and cultivated grounds. Flowering from August to May and probably all the year round.

වෙසක් මල්[Wesak-Mal] (Dendrobium maccarthiae)

Rare endemic epiphyte occurs only in the Rathnapura jungles. Flowering from May to July. Hence the vernacular name Wesak mal (Wesak > Sinhalese name for the month of May and mal > flowers)

Blue Pansy (Junonia orithya patenas)

An uncommon butterfly occurs all over the island. But abundant in moderate elevations from 2000 to 4000 ft. It inhabits open areas such as grasslands, pathways, etc. In such habitats it can be encountered usually on the ground resting with wings open. When alarm it flies fast for a short distant to settle again. Larva feeds on leaves of Justicia procumbens (මයානි/Common small justicia), Yamazakia pusilla, and Rungia repens (සුළු නයි/Creeping rungia).  Its larva also fed on Centranthera indica (දුටු සතුටු) when offered. 

බලු-නකුට/නිල්-නකුට[Balu-nakuta/Nil-nakuta]/Dog's tail/Blue rat's tail (Stachytarpheta urticifolia)

An introduced herb native to tropical America. Naturalized and common along roadsides, waste places and open areas.  Flowering throughout the year.

කූඩලු මල්[Kudalu Mal](Impatiens flaccida)

An indigenous herb common in moist shaded places, often along pathways, river banks etc. in secondary or degraded forests, villages and cultivated lands from lowlands to about 1000 m a.s.l. Usually growing in large colonies.

Chestnut-shouldered Petronia (Annotated checklist of vagrant Sparrows (Family: Passeridae) 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 Passeridae (Sparrows & allies) in Sri Lanka.

Chestnut-shouldered Petronia[Yellow-throated Sparrow] (Petronia xanthocollis xanthocollis)

Legge procured two specimens from a considerable flock in company with a number of Weaver birds, on some openly-wooded grass-land near the sea, close to Madampe while on a trip to Chilaw in October 1876. It is the only record hitherto of this species in Sri Lanka (Legge 1880: 783).

References:

Legge V., 1880. A History of the birds of Ceylon  1983 second edition.

Copper leaf/Jacob's coat (Acalypha wilkesiana)

Common shrub cultivated in gardens. Native to the Fiji and nearby islands in the South Pacific.

Pavetta agrostiphylla

An endemic shrub or treelet occurs in southwestern wet evergreen forests.

Zebra Blue (Syntarucus plinius)

Common butterfly occurs throughout the island up to higher hills. It is one of the commonest in drier parts of the country where male Zebra blues are always seen congregated around mud puddles and other moist areas. Larva feeds on flowers of  Plumbago auriculata(Cape leadwort), Plumbago zeylanica(එළ-නිතුල්/Ceylon leadwort/White plumbago). Rhynchosia minima, Indigofera tinctoria (නිල් අවරි),  Indigofera linnaei (බිං අවරි), Aeschynomene americana (Thornless mimosa) and Ormocarpum sennoides subsp. hispidum.

Kendrickia walkeri

An indigenous sometime epiphytic climber climbing often high on the tree trunks and branches of forest trees. Rather common in the montane zone. 

Dendrolobium umbellatum

An indigenous shrub occurs in sea coasts (usually on sand just above the high water marks) and borders of brackish ponds. 

Vagrant Thrushes (Family: Turdidae) 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 Turdidae (Thrushes ) in Sri Lanka.    

     1) Eyebrowed Thrush [Dark Thrush] (Turdus obscurus)

Graham Speight of UK reported a bird first time on 24^th February 1994 at Nuwaraeliya. The same bird was reported by Ole F. Jakobsen in Forktail 10 (February 1995) as having been seen on 5^th February 1994 (Hoffmann, T. W., 1995) A sight record of it again reported from Nuwaraeliya in February 2002 (Siriwardana, U., 2003). Another bird observed at Horton plains NP on December 2005 (Sirivardana U. & Warakagoda  D. , 2006). Subsequent sights records are--

• On 28 January 2014 Rohan Gunasekara reported a single bird with several Pied Ground Thrushes from the Victoria Park of Nuwaraeliya (http://www.ceylonbirdclub.org/the_ceylon_bird_club_news.php)
• Moditha Kodikara Arachchi reported a single bird from the Victoria Park, Nuwara Eliya.(Posted in http://www.ceylonbirdclub.org/the_ceylon_bird_club_news.php on 1st  February 2015)

References:

Hoffmann, T. W., 1995. Ceylon Bird Club Notes 1994. Loris, 20(5), 226-227.
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

Erigeron sublyratus

Rather rare indigenous annual herb occurs in sandy places of the low country, often near water courses or close to the sea shore. Flowering September- December.

සල්[Sal]/Cannon ball tree(Couroupita guianensis)[Couroupita surinamensis]

Native plant of South America. Introduced probably in 1881# and widely cultivated throughout the country since then. Often cultivated near Buddhist temples wrongly believing that this is the Sal tree under that queen Mahamaya gave birth to the prince Sidhdhartha and also Parinibbana (demise) of the Lord Buddha occurred *. 

# http://www.vidusara.com/2011/06/22/feature6.html
*That Sal tree is Shorea obusta of Dipterocarpaceae family (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shorea_robusta). A native plant of Indian subcontinent ( http://www.nation.lk/edition/fine/item/38684-how-sal-trees-arrived-in-sri-lanka.html )

Decorated Ace (Thoressa decorata)

Rare endemic butterfly found in southwestern forest areas up to about 1200 m elevations. No data available on its larval host plants or early stages of the life cycle.

Kurunegala Daisy/Coat-buttons(Tridax procumbens)

An introduced perennial with procumbent stems. Native to Central America. Common weed of roadsides, wastelands, lawns and cultivated grounds. Flowering occurs throughout the year.

කිරිල්ල/කිරල/හොඳ කිරල[Kirilla/Kirala/Honda kirala](Sonneratia caseolaris)

An indigenous shrub or small tree common in mangrove swamps and tidal estuaries. Also extending upstream along the river banks. Found in most mangrove swamps in Sri Lanka. Ripe fruit are used to make a drink. Flowers open during the night and pollinated by bats. Flowering September and probably also from February to August*

* Flowers observed at Telwatta sanctuary during mid April. 

Malabar Trogon [Ceylon Trogon]/මහ ගිනි-කුරුල්ලා/ලෝහවන්නිච්චා[Maha Gini Kurulla/Lohawannichcha] (Harpactes fasciatus fasciatus)

An uncommon breeding resident inhabiting dense forests from wet lowlands to hills while local and rare in the dry zone forests. It lives in fairs or as small flocks. Feeds on flying insects such as beetles, moths, stick insects, etc darting out from the perched location where it stays motionless without noticing any casual observers. Often feeds during dawn and dusk. It join feeding flocks. Malabar Trogon breeds from February to June. The nest is a cavity in a tree trunk, usually a rotten dead one and where it lays 2-3 eggs. Both male and female incubate. 

තේ/Tea(Camellia sinensis)

Native plant of China. Widely cultivated in the hill country and some lowland areas for widely consumed beverage of the world.

හීන් කැබැල්ල/වෙල්-මැඩිය[Heen-kebella/Vel-mediya](Aporosa lanceolata[Aporusa lanceolata] )

An endemic small tree or shrub occurs in primary and secondary forests up to about 900 m elevations, usually along river banks. 

Common Bluebottle (Graphium sarpedon teredon)

Common butterfly flies all the year round in the southwestern wet lowlands up to the hills. Rather local and uncommon in the dry lowlands and absent in the extreme north. Males often come to mud puddling. It has a fast flight. Bluebottle does not take part in migrations. Larva feeds on leaves of Cinnamomum verum (කුරුදු), Cinnamomum capparu-coronde (කපුරු කුරුඳු), Cinnamomum dubium (සෙවල කුරුඳු), Cinnamomum ovalifolium, Neolitsea cassia (කුඩුදවුල/දවුල් කුරුදු), Neolitsea fuscata (කුඩු දවුල) , Litsea gardneri (තලන්), Actinodaphne stenophylla (නික දවුල), Persea americana (අලිගැට පේර/Avacado/Alligator pear), Actinodaphne glauca and Neolitsea Zeylanica of the family Lauraceae.

Dracaena thwaitesii

An indigenous shrub occurs in moist forests from lowlands to hill country (Up to about 1200 m a.s.l. ) Flowering from May to August.*

* Several flowering plants observed during early March at Morapitiya - Runakanda forest reserve. 

Busy Lizzie (Impatiens walleriana)

An introduced perennial herb native to tropical East Africa. Cultivated and also naturalized on shaded river banks, roadsides and pathways often in or near villages  from 850-1200 m elevations.

අලු ගිරවා[Alu Girawa]/Sri Lanka Emerald-collared Parakeet/Layard's Parakeet (Psittacula calthropae)

Locally common endemic parrot inhabiting forests and well wooded areas in the wet lowlands to mid-hills and foothills of the dry lowlands. However its main habitat is in the hills from their bases to about 1500 a.s.l. It lives as pairs or as small flocks. Sri Lanka Emerald-collared Parakeet feeds on fruits, flowers,buds, nectar etc. The breeding season is from January to May and again from July to September. The nest is a hole in the trunk of a tree where it lays 2-3 eggs.

Striped dewflower (Murdannia striatipetala)

An indigenous annual herb occurs in abandoned paddy fields, wet open sandy areas, ditches, seasonal swampy places, edge of scrubland etc. from sea level to about 30 m a.s.l. Flowering from January to February. 

St.John's Wort(Hypericum mysurense)

An indigenous much-branched shrub occurs in patanas, grasslands and open busy places in upper montane zone (Above 1500 m). Flowering throughout the year.

Little Branded Swift (Pelopidas agna)

Little branded Swift is a rare butterfly with not much data on its distribution in the island. As per Woodhouse it is more likely to be found in the mid to upper hills while other similar species Small Branded Swift (Pelopidas mathias) with larger spots flies in the low country to mid hills (L.G.O. Woodhouse, 1950). It inhabits grasslands and open areas. Larva feeds on Arundo donax, Ischaemum timorense and also Axonopus compressus only when offered.

කූඩලු[Kudalu]/Garden balsam/Common balsam (Impatiens balsamina)

An introduced (native? >>) annual herb native to India and Southeast Asian mainland.  It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant and also escaped and naturalized along roadsides and open places.