Sri Lanka Birding Tour Highlights

Check out the details of my next planned Sri Lanka Birding Tour.

It is a sad fact that in many places around the world bird numbers have declined to such an extent that it can be hard to see much more than just pigeons and crows, but in Sri Lanka, and in the wetlands in particular, the numbers of birds can be impressive. From flocks of Eurasian Spoonbills, to colourful Pheasant-tailed Jacanas and a wide variety of shorebirds, the ancient, shallow reservoirs of Sri Lanka host a wealth of birds including a wide variety of arboreal birds in the clusters of trees dotted around the water's edge.

Birds are the closest living relatives to dinosaurs, indeed, it is increasingly accepted that they are not only related but that they are the only living lineage of dinosaurs (birds are dinosaurs) and this is perhaps most obvious when observing large waterbirds such as pelicans, storks and herons. The shallow "tanks" (reservoirs) of Sri Lanka give birders the chance to enjoy these types of birds in abundance. In the early morning, as the sun rises, there is a magical site of large numbers of egrest and herons flying in from their night-time roosts to the reservoirs in order to spend the day fishing.

In coastal lagoons and grassland wetlands there are a few real monsters of the bird world that lurk in smaller numbers in the form of Lesser Adjutant and the towering Black-necked Stork while in the coastal wetlands in the north of Sri Lanka flocks of iconic Greater Flamingos can be seen feeding on the crustaceans that give them their pink colouration.

On freshwater lakes flotillas of Spot-billed Pelicans feed side-by-side with Eurasian Spoonbills, Black-headed Ibises, Painted Storks and Asian Openbills in a prehistoric-like scene. The "tanks" of Tissamaharama, in the south of Sri Lanka, is perhaps one of the best places to see this spectacle.

All of these birds are impressive in their own right but what, perhaps, makes them most interesting to non-birders is just their sheer size and consequently, how easy to spot they are when in the right habitat.

Of course, large areas of shallow wetlands with muddy edges and boggy grassland attracts a wide variety of shorebirds, otherwise known as wading birds. There both wintering and resident species of this group of birds with impressive species such as Yellow-wattled Lapwing, Great Thick-knee and Indian Thick-knee that are present all year round being joined in the months of November to April by a variety of migratory shorebirds such as Pacific Golden Plover, Tibetan Sand Plover, Temminck's Stint and Marsh Sandpiper to mention but a few.

Coastal wetlands, such as lagoons, mudflats and river estuaries can contain huge numbers of shorebirds during the months October to April when these birds feed on an abundance of invertebrates that live within the mud. For many people the real spectacle of this is the number of birds present, which can be spectacular when they take flight, but for the hard-core birder scanning through these flocks will reveal a large number of species and the chance of finding that one rarity within the group makes for suspensful birding.

When we think of wetlands birders minds will immediately turn to waterbirds of all varieties but one of the beauties of Sri Lanka is that habitats are frequently mixed with gardens, plantations and woodland bordering large areas of wetlands and this means a wide variety of birds.

Sri Lanka is one of those countries where birds are in good abundance wherever there is some habitat so wetlands are surprisingly full of arboreal birds. I was delighted to find woodpeckers such as White-naped Woodpecker and Yellow-crowned Woodpecker in large trees around lakes, Stork-billed Kingfishers perched in waterside trees, Ring-necked Parakeets, Brown-headed Barbets, Indian Paradise-flycatchers, Sri Lanka Woodshrikes and many others as I also enjoyed wetland species.

The diversity of birds around wetlands in Sri Lanka make for some of the best birding in Asia, and certainly some of the easiest, all of which goes towards making Sri Lanka a perfect birding destination. For those bird watchers who have never been to Asia before I always recommend either Thailand or Sri Lanka as perfect for being the first one to visit.

When birding around wetlands in southern Sri Lanka I was pleasantly surprised to find a pair of Malabar Pied Hornbills in the large trees around a reservoir, which was one of the highlights of my visit; you can take a look at one of my eBird lists for this habitat - Tissa Lake 14/03/22.

If you want to see some of the birds of these habitats watch the video I made about birding at Tissamaharama below.

Walking slowly through the shady, humid rainforest at Kitulgala I felt immersed in an ancient environment; just me and nature all around. The sound of insects was interspersed by the occasional call of birds as the sweat rolled down my skin and birding was difficult; they are at low density and difficult to see in this type of forest. This is fairly typical of tropical forest birding in Asia, one needs patience but what makes it all worth it is when one comes across a bird such as Malabar Trogon.

While not a common bird Malabar Trogon is found in tropical forest in Sri Lanka and Southern India and a bird that can usually be found on birding trips to this wonderful country. By walking quietly through the forest the soft call of Malabar Trogon can be heard and, due to its habit of sitting around, it can be tracked down on its perch.

With a plumage that is designed to blend in with the dappled light that sneaks into the rainforest it is not surprising that Spot-winged Thrush is a bird that dwells in the shadows. This species is endemic to Sri Lanka, found nowhere esle, and like many other thrushes it has a very musical song by which I tracked down the one in the above photograph. Having found its territory I was able to quietly settle down in the shade and watch it singing from several of its favourite perches as it finished its song in one place and then moved to the next in a sort of cyclical song route.

Although not one of Sri Lanka's most colourful birds it is one of the most enigmatic and highly-anticipated with one of the best songs. Listen to the song here in this video I made at Kitulgala in 2022 - Sri Lanka's Best Singer? Spot-winged Thrush Song.

Although tropical forest birding can be difficult the rewards can be exciting and for those who love this type of birding there are lots of fantastic species to track down. Sri Lanka Spurfowl is a shy, ground-dwelling species that can be located by its call while Sri Lanka Drongo is more obvious with its fluttering flight and noisy call from the mid-storey of the forest. Sri Lanka's most anticipated bird, Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, is one that lives in this tropical forest environment along with Ashy-headed Laughingthrush, Green-billed Coucal, the flashy Sri Lanka Junglefowl and a collection of babblers of various sizes, brighly-coloured bulbuls and the prehistoric Sri Lanka Frogmouth.

For those birders who have a lot of experience in Asia the endemic birds of Sri Lanka will be the prime focus but for those less experienced in the region there is also a really wide variety of more widespread birds too. Indeed, some of these widespread species are likely to be split in the future with the Sri Lankan subspecies being elevated to full species status - Sri Lankan Shama is a good example of this.

An absolutely lovely respite from the hot and humid lowlands is a trip to the highland plateau in Central Sri Lanka. Here the temperature is rather cooler, particularly at night, and far less humid, containing a whiole different set of exciting birds. With plenty of pleasant accommodation the town of Nuwara Eliya is ideal for birders to be based in, particularly with the ornithological delights that can be found in Victoria park in the town centre, including the Kashmir Flycatcher pictured above.

In fact, birding at Victoria Park was excellent, with birds abundant and fairly easy to see. Usually bird watchers want to be out in the early morning or late afternoon, but in my enthusiasm I arrived at the park for the first time at around 1pm in the afternoon, not usually prime birding time. However, I spent about three hours here and found more or less all the birds I was hoping to see, including the superb Pied Thrush.

The following is a list of some of the highlight birds of Victoria Park

Hagkala Botanical Gardens, situated on the Horton Plains, is another excellent birding site in this upland area, providing lots of birds in a cooler atmosphere. With lots of large, ornamental trees and flowering plants it is uite easy to see a lot of species here including the beautiful Crimson-backed Flameback, plenty of Dull-blue Flycatchers (a bird that is rather nicer than its name suggests), Sri Lanka White-eyes by the busload and lovely Orange Minivets.

One of the most sought-after birds in Sri Lanka is the diminutive Sri Lankan Whistlingthrush, a species that is shy and likes to hang around in shady spots in the early morning. If you know where to wait then this bird has its favourite places and by being in the right place at the right time good views can be had. Unfortunately, the bird was too close to photograph on my visits.

If you would like to see the birds of Sri Lanka then please join me on my next visit? We will be searching for all of Sri Lanka's endemic species as well as many of the more widespread species that occur there as possible.

Sri Lanka Endemics Birding Tour

As well as loads of great birds and interesting locations we always enjoy some really good Sri Lankan food in the evenings as we discuss the day's sightings.