MaleFemaleEnglish : Oriental ScarletBinomial Name : Crocothemis servilia serviliaOriental Scarlet is an extremely widespread species of dragonfly that can be seen in many geographical regions of the world including Sri Lanka. Male is totally red colored and female is olivaceous brown in color. It lives everywhere near stagnant water reservoirs such as tanks, ponds and paddy fields.

English : Common SailerBinomial Name : Neptis hylas This butterfly lives in South Asia and Southeast Asia including all environmental regions of Sri Lanka. Can be identified by the three white color lines in the upersede. Larval food plants belong to Fabaceae family. Two forms can be seen based on dry and wet seasons.

English : Common TailorbirdBinomial name : Orthotomus sutorius Sinhala : බට්ටිච්චාCommon tailor bird is brightly colored and can be seen in tropical Asia including Sri Lanka. It is given the name 'Tailor bird' due to its ability of creating nests by sewing large leaves of trees together into a shape of a cradle.They feed on insects.Even this bird lives hidden ...

English: Kelaart's dwarf toad/Kellaarti's pygmy frog/Kelaart's toadBinomial Name: Adenomus kelaartii/Bufo kelaartii/Adenomus badioflavusSinhala: කෙලාර්ට්ගේ කුරු ගෙම්බා[Kelaartge kuru gemba]Kelaart's dwarf toad is an endemic species of frog lives in wet zone of Sri Lanka. It is semi arboreal and can be found in south-west of the island. Body is covered with tiny warts. It is considered as an endangered species in IUCN ...

English : Sri Lanka cat snakeBinomial Name : Boiga ceylonensisSinhala : නිදි මාපිලාBoiga ceylonensis is a mildly venomous species of snake lives in Sri Lanka and India.This snake is nocturnal and lives in evergreen forests. They mainly feed on lizards and geckos. In Sri Lanka there is a belief that this snake is highly venomous and bites people at night ...

English: Rock Balsam Binomial: Impatiens acaulisImpatiens acaulis is a small sized herb found in hill country of Sri Lanka. Common in wet surfaces of rocks inside forests. Apart from Sri Lanka it can be seen in Western Ghats of India. Above photos were taken at Horton national park in December.

English : Crimson RoseBinomial Name : Pachliopta hectorCrimson Rose lives mainly in Sri Lanka and India. But it's rare to find in central hills of Sri Lanka. Bright color patters of wings indicate the inedibility by predators. It is mimicked by the female of Common mormon. But can be distinguished easily by the red colored abdomen and brightly colored crimson markings of Crimson Rose.

English: Sharp-snouted shrub frogBinomial name: Pseudophilautus cuspis / Philautus cuspisSinhala: තියුණු හොඹු මැඩියා [Thiyunu hombu madiya]An endemic frog found only in wet zone rain forests of Sri Lanka with a good canopy layer. Can be found mostly with leaf litter. This frog is given the Latin name 'Cuspis' due to its sharp snout. Habitats are limited to few places ...

English : Zebra Blue / Plumbago BlueBinomial Name : Leptotes pliniusCan be identified by zebra pattern of fore wing and hind wing. In Sri Lanka it can be seen in all environmental regions except central hills. It has been destributed in other Asian countries such as India and China.

English : Sri Lankan Hedge HopperBinomial Name : Baracus vittatus vittatusBaracus vittatus is an endemic butterfly of Sri Lanka. It can be seen mostly in hill country were its larval food grasses (eg: Garnotia exaristata) grow. This butterfly is common in areas where elevation above the sea level is greater than 1500meters. But it has been recorded in areas where ...

English: Pheasant-tailed jacanaBinomial Name: Hydrophasianus chirurgusSinhala: සැවුල්-පෙඳ දියසෑනා[Sawulpenda diya sena]This bird lives in lowlands marshes and aquatic plant-covered tanks of Sri Lanka. Feet and claws of the bird have been adopted to walk on floating vegetation in shallow lakes. Its population has been distributed in many Asian countries including India, Southeast Asia and Indonesia. They feed on insects and other ...

English: Half-webbed Pug-snout FrogBinomial: Uperodon palmatus/Ramanella palmataSinhala: පාකර්ගේ මොට හොඹු මැඩියා[Pakerge mota hombu madiya] Half-webbed Pug-snout Frog is an endemic species of frogs restricted to the central highlands of Sri Lanka. Above photographed specimen was found close to a forest in Nuwaraeliya district and the elevation above sea level of the location was about 1894m. It is considered to be ...

English : Green vine snakeBinomial name : Ahaetulla nasutaSinhala : ඇහැටුල්ලා / ඇස්ගුල්ලාGreen vine snake is a mildly venomous reptile living in all environmental regions of Sri Lanka except montane zones elevation above the sea level is greater than 1000 meters. Most of the time this snake can be seen on trees or shrubs. They have a green color body ...

Binomial name: Mahatha helayaMahatha helaya is an endemic species of freshwater crabs found in the hill country of Sri Lanka. This crab is only known from its type locality, near Kalupahana in the borders of water streams close to the main Colombo-Haputale road (Bahir and Ng 2005). All the members of the genus Mahatha are endemic to the island and ...

English: ClipperBinomial Name: Parthenos sylviaClipper is a butterfly found in dense forests of Sri Lanka and difficult to find close to human habitats. It is common in wet zone compared to dry zone. This butterfly settles rarely on the ground. Most of the time it can be seen flying high up in the trees. Many sub species of this butterfly ...

English : Small Grass YellowBinomial Name : Eurema brigittaE. brigitta is a butterfly belongs to Pieridae family. It lives in Asia, Australia and Africa. More than ten sub species exist and the one that lives in Sri Lanka is E.brigitta rubella. It can be found in grass lands and home gardens of hill country.

English : Bronzed frog Binomial name :Rana temporalisSinhala : තඹවන් දිය මැඩියා [Thambawan diya mandiya]This brown colored frog is endemic to Sri Lanka. It can be seen in shaded streams of wet zone. R. temporalis has been distributed in low country as well as in hill country where elevation above the sea level is lesser than 1830 meters. They live ...

E.sordida in 50 rupee noteEnglish : Sri Lanka Dull-blue Flycatcher / Dusky-Blue FlycatcherScientific : Eumyias sordidaSinhala : අඳුරු නිල් මැසිමාරා / Anduru nil masimaraSri Lanka Dull-blue Flycatcher is an endemic bird living in highlands of Sri Lanka. It can be seen mostly in forests and well wooded areas where elevation from the sea level is greater than 600 meters. Horton ...

Binomial Name: Habenaria acuminata / Ate acuminata Thwaites A wild orchid found in Sri Lanka and South India. In Sri Lanka it can be found in Submontane zone. Above photographs were taken in November.

Binomial Name: Beddomea albizonata/Beddomea albizonatus Beddomea albizonata is an endemic species of land snails found in lowland wet zone forests of Sri Lanka. Green colored shell is an adaptation for the arboreal life. This snail can be mostly found on wet surfaces of rocks and leaves where the humidity level is high. Above photographs were taken at Kalugala and Makandawa ...