Last month, I guided a 7-day Endemics Clean Up Tour with four super-hardcore Dutch birders: Erik Ernens, Robert Keizer, Eric Lam, and Marius Bolck. It was a mega success with us bagging 220 species of birds, including all 33 endemic birds. Our overnight locations were Nuwara Eliya, Udawalawe, Sinharaja and Kithulgala. After raking in montane specials on the first two ...
Early this month, I guided Max Berlijn from the Netherlands. Max came to me for an eight-day birding tour through Pieter van der Luit of Inezia Tours—one of the winners of a blog quiz done by me. Of the numerous birders that I have guided over the years, Max was special in that he was my first hardcore Holarctic Lister: ...
Early this month, I guided Max Berlijn from the Netherlands. Max came to me for an eight-day birding tour through Pieter van der Luit of Inezia Tours—one of the winners of a blog quiz done by me. Of the numerous birders that I have guided over the years, Max was special in that he was my first hardcore Holarctic Lister: ...
My last tour for 2010 was in late December with Mike Pope, who came here with his non-birding wife Gill, and their eight-year old thumb war champion son, Jaden. Our first base on this tour was the Hunas Falls Hotel, which is situated in the lush foothills of Hunasgririya mountain. About 10 years ago I researched and named two nature ...
My last tour for 2010 was in late December with Mike Pope, who came here with his non-birding wife Gill, and their eight-year old thumb war champion son, Jaden. Our first base on this tour was the Hunas Falls Hotel, which is situated in the lush foothills of Hunasgririya mountain. About 10 years ago I researched and named two nature ...
When I last blogged about this planthopper, it was known as Centromeria viridistigma. Not anymore. According to a recent revision done by Dr. Zhi-Shun Song and Al-Ping Liang at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it now goes as Truncatomeria viridistigma. The new genus is endemic to Sri Lanka and is a monotypic one, which means there is only a single ...
When I last blogged about this planthopper, it was known as Centromeria viridistigma. Not anymore. According to a recent revision done by Dr. Zhi-Shun Song and Al-Ping Liang at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it now goes as Truncatomeria viridistigma. The new genus is endemic to Sri Lanka and is a monotypic one, ...
I hope the New Year will bring you peace, happiness and good health! The endemic Chestnut-backed Owlet above was photographed last November at Kithulgala while guiding Dr. Wilf Powell and his wife Mrs. Julia Powell on a 14-day Absolute Birding tour. I am always careful when typing the name of this bird to avoid the embarrassing misspelling: Chestnut-baked Owlet! ...
I hope the New Year will bring you peace, happiness and good health! The endemic Chestnut-backed Owlet above was photographed last November at Kithulgala while guiding Dr. Wilf Powell and his wife Mrs. Julia Powell on a 14-day Absolute Birding tour. I am always careful when typing the name of this bird to ...
Two days after hatching, the chicks of the Blue-throated Bee-eater, several feet down in their dingy nest burrows, begin to develop a hook in the tip of the upper mandible. It turns needle-sharp by day four, before disappearing altogether by around day thirteen. During this time, the sharpness of this hook is such that if you unearth a chick from ...
Two days after hatching, the chicks of the Blue-throated Bee-eater, several feet down in their dingy nest burrows, begin to develop a hook in the tip of the upper mandible. It turns needle-sharp by day four, before disappearing altogether by around day thirteen. During this time, the sharpness of this hook is such that if you unearth a chick from ...
"... When the nesting time arrives, a hollow tree or branch is chosen—preferably one with a long, narrow, nearly vertical cavity, and a narrow entrance at the top. Then the female builds her nest, which consists of strips nibbled from the edges of green leaves. Having cut a strip, she inserts one end of it under her scarlet rump-feathers, ...
"... When the nesting time arrives, a hollow tree or branch is chosen—preferably one with a long, narrow, nearly vertical cavity, and a narrow entrance at the top. Then the female builds her nest, which consists of strips nibbled from the edges of green leaves. Having cut a strip, she inserts one ...
Meet the urber-cool caterpillar of the Fruit-piercing Moth Eudocima homaena (Hubner, 1823) that I photographed at the Sinharaja rain forest, early this month. The winged adults of this moth pierces fruits, most notably of Citrus types, to feed on their juicy rewards; and are regarded as agricultural pests because of that. It's feeding on a tender egde of the ...
Meet the urber-cool caterpillar of the Fruit-piercing Moth Eudocima homaena (Hubner, 1823) that I photographed at the Sinharaja rain forest, early this month. The winged adults of this moth pierces fruits, most notably of Citrus types, to feed on their juicy rewards; and are regarded as agricultural pests because of that. It's ...
I hope the birds and the beasts may not get too frightened! Shenal Dias (2.12, 2.15, and 2.53 in the video)—the 6'5'' lock of the champion rugby team of St. Peter's College of 2010 will be representing Sri Lanka in the Rugby Sevens in the Commonwealth Games on Monday, 11 October, 2010. Shenal, the captain of the Sri Lanka's ...
For its number of ridiculously easy photo moments of not-so-easy birds, a 14-day Absolute Birding tour that I guided in March, 2010, will always rank high on my mind's list. I mean birds like this Dull-blue Flycatcher that sat on a fern stem and forgot to fly. Like this Sirkeer Malkoha, which accosted ...
