UNEXPECTED VISITORS DAY AFTER FOREST DAY

Yesterday (21st of March) was the International Day of Forests and perhaps the small Monkey troop in our area in Rajagiriya decided to celebrate it belatedly by making a visit very close to our balcony today morning. This family of monkeys consist of (probably) Father, Mother and an infant together with another adult (altogether 4 members). Today is the first time they were seen together this close, few yards from our balcony. They were expertly walking on electric wires and hope they will not get electrocuted.

I believe these are the Western Purple-faced Leaf Monkeys named among 35 worst threatened primates of the world. Having an infant is giving hope that they continue breeding and survive if we will not further destroy the remaining tree cover, but sadly their remaining habitats are fast diminishing. So I dedicate a thought for their survival on this year's International Day on Forests to remind the importance of keeping the trees for these ‪#‎UrbanWildlfie‬ to survival..!! 

(Would like to know other areas closer to colombo that the Purple-faced Leaf Monkey still survives.... So please share your observations...!!)  

Dedication of International Forest Day to 'World's Most Threatened'

Today (21st of March) is the International Day of Forests. Other than the usual birds, the family of Purple-faced Leaf Monkey that lives in our area could be spotted giving special meaning for the day. This monkey family consist of a father, mother and a young monkey. Most of the days, they visited the highest leafless tree at the bank of Kolonnawa Canal giving me a straight look from the balcony of our residence. Primarily being forest species, these Monkeys give a very big fight for survival on fast changing land use patterns in the area. These 3 could be the last of the monkeys that will ever live in this area and I wish them long peaceful life on International Forest Day this year..!!

The Crow Reunion..!!

Today morning (21st of March) around 8, a large number of crows suddenly arrived trees close to our residencies making a big cawing sound. There were more than 30 crows and they occupied the 3 trees that acts as main 'observation decks' to the birds in our area. About 5 - 8 crows usually descends from nowhere when the fish selling guy comes; but this is the first time I spotted this many numbers of aggregation of crows. I had looked for a reason, but couldn't find. After the initial cawing, they were silent and stayed passive perched on those trees for about 10 minutes before dispersing. 

Today is also the International Day for Forests, so perhaps the Crows gathered to mark the day in the morning :) 

Song of the Koel - Heralding the Avurudu with a call for mate

From the place we live in Rajagiriya, we can spot lots of birds, but for some reason the Asian Koel is not a frequent sighting with only a glimpse of flying Asian Koels only on 2 occasions for the past 6 months (also never heard them calling or singing during this period). However, a lonely Asian Koel started its melodious song on 08th of March. Afterward the bird could be heard once in a while singing for shorter periods. The song of the Asian Koel traditionally considered as marking the dawn of the Avurudu season. Please share your experience too whether you too can now hear Asian Koel's song for this season.  

You can read more about the Asian Koels by reading my article published on 2008.  

The koha, or Asian Koel, is widely considered the harbinger of the Avurudu season. Many Sri Lankans believe the koha is a migrant bird that visits our gardens expressly to convey the Avurudu message. But this is not so. The Asian Koel is around all year.

What happens around Avurudu time is that the male cuckoo starts calling and competing for a mate. The male Koel’s melodious song signals the start of the breeding season, which coincides with the April festive season.

The blackish, red-eyed Koel is often associated with a spotted bird, the thith koha (spotted koel), which is thought to be another cuckoo species. But the bird is in fact the female Asian Koel. The male and female are totally different in appearance, as these photographs show.

The Asian Koel demonstrates an interesting behaviour pattern known as brood parasitism: instead of building its own nest, it lays its single egg in the nests of other birds, usually those of the crow. It is believed that the male Koel distracts the crows from their nests so that the female can seize the opportunity to lay her egg.

The Koel fledglings usually hatch before the baby crows, and eat most of the food brought by the unsuspecting crow parent. However, when the crows detect the intruder, they eject it from the nest.

Published on SundayTimes on 13.04.2008 http://sundaytimes.lk/080413/Plus/plus00002.html

Sighting of Illusive Stork-billed Kingfisher

Since we moved to Rajagiriya in 2014; a sharp piercing call was heard once in a while, specially in the morning. The call was familiar, but wanted to get it confirmed with a sighting. I got lucky on the morning of 11th March morning to photograph the noisy bird - a Stork-billed Kingfisher calling its mate from a distance. Just curious its presence in sites closer to colombo - so please share the locations of your sightings of Stork-billed Kingfisher around the city..!!