Sri Lanka’s abundant bird-life makes the island a true ornithologist’s paradise for bird watching tours. Of the 427 recorded species, 250 are resident and 23 are endemic to the country. With such a variety of environments ranging from wet to dry zone, forest to jungle, and hill country to low lands, there is no end to the fascinating locations in which to spot many of these beautiful birds. Most of the endemic birds such as the Sri Lankan grackle are restricted to the wet zone. Birds such as the Sri Lanka whistling thrush and the yellow-eared bulbul reside in the hill country. Others, like the brilliantly plumaged jungle fowl, the striking red-faced malkoha and the shy brown-capped babbler can be found in forests and sanctuaries throughout the island. Among the best areas for sighting these birds are the Sinharaja Rain Forest Reserve and the Adam’s Peak Wilderness Sanctuary.
The large lakes (irrigation reservoirs) in the dry zone attract numerous varieties of duck. Larger aquatic birds such as stork, heron, egret, spoonbill, pelican and ibis can easily be seen in the wetlands, especially at Wirawila, Kalametiya and Bundala National Park. It is also famed for its large flocks of migrant flamingos. Around mid-August the first migratory species arrive in Sri Lanka. Large flocks of sandpipers, stints, plovers, terns and harriers fly over from northern India, Siberia, Scandinavia and Western Europe and settle along the lagoons and salterns of the eastern, north-western and south-eastern coasts. In the forested areas of Sri Lanka, birds like migratory tree warblers, thrushes and cuckoos can be seen.
Nature Tours in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is a nature’s wonder. The little island 270 km by 140 km in size has everything a nature lover is looking for. The highly diversified island differs from city to city, district to district and province to province. Mountains, plains, water falls, national parks, the sea, paddy fields, tea gardens, rain forests, rivers, landscapes and streams, all are beautiful. The Sri Lankan nature’s beauty blends in it’s wild life of elephants, birds, animals, flowers and trees.
