Grey-necked Bunting – The first record from Sri Lanka

During a bird survey session at Kalpitiya Peninsula, FOGSL research team recorded a Grey necked Bunting (Emberiza buchanani). This is the first record of the species in the island.

We were surveying coastal grassland at Nirmalapura, Daluwa area of Puttlum District on 16th December 2008. One of us (CDK) noticed an unknown species at around 0700 in the morning. Reddish beak and legs caught our attention. The bird was not shy and therefore we could observe it very closely for around 2 hours.

Based on the shape of its bill and other features, we decided that the bird could be a bunting (DS has previous experience on buntings). We photographed the bird by digiscoping. All the features were noted and later examined with the help of a field guide available to us (Grimmet et.al. 1998- Field guide to the birds of Indian Subcontinent).

The bird was observed again at mid day and evening. We could photograph it extensively at mid day. It was feeding busily on grass seeds all the time. During our observation period, bird didn’t accompany any other bird species in the area and remained solitary. Common Mynas, Spotted Doves, Richard’s Pipits, House sparrows, Rock Pigeons and Blue tailed Bee-eaters were frequently feeding on the grassland.

Later we sent few photographs to Dr. Girish Jathar, well-known ornithologist in India. He confirmed the identity of the bird by examining the photographs.

Buntings were recorded only once in Sri Lanka. Two bunting species namely Black headed bunting (Emberiza melanocephala) and Red headed Bunting (Emberiza bruniceps)were recorded at Udawalawe National Park in year 2005. Hence, this is the third record of a bunting species in Sri Lanka.

Reported by

C. D. Kaluthota, Dammithra Samarasinghe, Hasith de Silva and Dilshan de Silva

A Sand Martin and a White–cheeked Tern: Two vagrant species captured at Bundala National Park

During a bird ringing session carried out at the Bundala National park, a Sand Martin (Riparia riparia) and a White-cheeked Tern (Sterna repressa) were captured. Bird ringing session which was planned to capture birds at the middle of the migratory period was held at the Bundala National Park from 9th to 14th December 2008. This ringing session was conducted as a part of the National Bird Ringing Programme (NBRP) which is a collaboration programme of Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL) and the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC).

Ringing session was conducted at the Bundala Salterns adjacent to the Bundala Lagoon that located within the National Park. During the netting operations in the morning of 12th December, a Sand Martin was captured on a net established to capture waders and terns. Large flock of Barn swallows was flying in the area from early morning but none was captured. It was not difficult to identify the species as a Sand Martin by its morphological characteristics. It’s prominent brown breast band, partial white collar that not going across the nape and sandy brown upperparts were helpful to distinguish it from the other similar species Pale Martin. Sand Martin is considered as a vagrant to Sri Lanka.

Large flock of around 5000 terns was roosting at the salterns during the period of ringing operations. This flock contained few species while the majority was Common Terns, crested terns and little terns. On the night of 13th December, we found a bird which was different from the other terns we captured so far, on a one of our mist nets. It was kept in a cardboard box until next day morning for the processing. Based on the morphological characters and the measurements, we decided it as a White-cheeked Tern. However, since it is considered as a vagrant and there was only one previous record from Sri Lanka we needed further confirmation on the identity. Fortunately, well-known ornithologist and Principle investigator of the NBRP, Prof. Sarath Kotagama and Mr. Rex De Silva who recorded the species from Sri Lanka (the first record), were at Bundala with the team of FOGSL members having a workshop on Waders. We arranged to examine the specimen by themselves to get further confirmation. After studying the bird and referring some books we had at the field, we all concluded that the species is the White-cheeked Tern. This is the second record of the species from Sri Lanka. FOGSL members who participated in the workshop on waders at Bundala also got the opportunity to observe the bird and photograph it.

Birds were ringed, photographed and released later. Both of these records are first specimen records of the species in Sri Lanka.

C.D. Kaluthota, Rahula Perera, Kasun Dayananda, Sameera Ariyarathna, Hasith De Silva and Dilshan De Silva of FOGSL and five officers from the DWC participated in the ringing session.

Reported by C.D. Kaluthota.

Wader study workshop at Bundala

FOGSL organized the annual Wader Study Workshop for its members from 12th to 14th December at Bundala wetland complex and its surroundings. The main highlight of the trip was participating in the National Bird Ringing Programme conducted jointly by the FOGSL and the Department of Wildlife Conservation.

We left the FOGSL office on the 11th December around 2.30 pm in a coach that was fully packed with members and their belongings! The only stop of the journey was at Kuruwita for a well deserving cup of tea. It was around 10.00 pm when we arrived at Walligaththa junction and had to wade through flood waters which were rushing in to the Embilikala lagoon. No one wanted to put up tents at the ‘Heritage’, our base camp for the trip, and opted to sleep on the mats for a change. But sadly many didn’t sleep well that night due to “large herds” of mosquitoes and snoring of their neighbors! Sounds of crackers that are lit to chase the wondering elephants were very common, indicating an accelerating human-elephant conflict in the village and its surroundings. Weather gods were good to us during the following three days and as indicated in the list below, 124 bird species were recorded, of which the only endemic was the Sri Lanka Jungle fowl. More than 30 migrants were present in the lagoons, tanks and slatterns. A Fulvous Whistling-duck was spotted amongst the resting Garganyes in the Bandu wewa. Large numbers of terns and cormorants were observed in the Bundala salterns where the bird ringing activities were taking place. The most common migratory waders caught in the mist nets were the Common Redshanks. Capturing White-cheeked Tern, Sterna repressa in the mist nets was a rare treat, especially for Rex whose record of the species 20 years ago was not well received locally at that time.
During dusk, Small Pratincoles and two Nightjar species (Jerdon's and Indian) were observed resting on the saltern banks and on the roads. Spotting a pair of White-naped Woodpeckers at a home garden near the Debarawewa, was an exiting event for many members.
List of birds recorded

Common name Scientific name

Sri Lanka Junglefowl Gallus lafayetii
Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus
Fulvous Whistling-duck Dendrocygna bicolor
Lesser Whistling-duck Dendrocygna javanica
Garganey Anas querquedula
Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala
Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans
Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus
Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia
Yellow Bittern Ixobrychus sinensis
Black Bittern Ixobrychus flavicollis
Black-crowned Night-heron Nycticorax nycticorax
Indian Pond-heron Ardeola grayii
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
Purple Heron Ardea purpurea
Great Egret Casmerodius albus
Intermediate Egret Mesophoyx intermedia
Little Egret Egretta garzetta Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis
Little Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger
Indian Cormorant Phalacrocorax fuscicollis
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster
Brahminy Kite Haliastur Indus
White-bellied Sea-eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster
White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus
Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio
Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus
Eurasian Thick-knee Burhinus oedicnemus
Great Thick-knee Esacus recurvirostris
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus
White-headed Stilt Himantopus leucocephalus
Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus
Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva
Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola
Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius
Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus
Lesser Sand Plover Charadrius mongolus
Pheasant-tailed Jacana Hydrophasianus chirurgus
Pintail Snipe Gallinago stenura
Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa
Common Redshank Tringa totanus
Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis
Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia
Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola
Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
Little Stint Calidris minuta
Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis
Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea
Small Pratincole Glareola lactea
Brown-headed Gull Larus brunnicephalus
Gull-billed Tern Sterna nilotica
Caspian Tern Sterna caspia
Lesser Crested Tern Sterna bengalensis
Great Crested Tern Sterna bergii
Common Tern Sterna hirundo

Little Tern Sterna albifrons
White-cheeked Tern Sterna repressa
Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida
Rock Pigeon Columba livia
Spotted Dove Stigmatopelia chinensis
Green Imperial-pigeon Ducula aenea
Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri
Pied Cuckoo Clamator jacobinus
Chestnut-winged Cuckoo Clamator coromandus
Grey-bellied Cuckoo Cacomantis passerinus
Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus
Blue-faced Malkoha Phaenicophaeus viridirostris
Sirkeer Malkoha Phaenicophaeus leschenaultii
Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis
Collared Scops-owl Otus bakkamoena
Jerdon's Nightjar Caprimulgus atripennis
Indian Nightjar Caprimulgus asiaticus
Crested Treeswift Hemiprocne coronata
Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis
Stork-billed Kingfisher Pelargopsis capensis
White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis

Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis
Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis

Little Green Bee-eater Merops orientalis
Blue-tailed Bee-eater Merops philippinus
Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops
Brown-headed Barbet Megalaima zeylanica
White-naped Woodpecker Chrysocolaptes festivus
Indian Pitta Pitta brachyura
Ashy Woodswallow Artamus fuscus
Common Iora Aegithina tiphia
Common Woodshrike Tephrodornis pondicerianus
Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus
Black-hooded Oriole Oriolus xanthornus
Asian Paradise-flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi
House Crow Corvus splendens
Jungle Crow Corvus levaillantii
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Jerdon’s Bushlark Mirafra affinis
Ashy-crowned Sparrow-lark Eremopterix griseus
Ashy Prinia Prinia socialis
Plain Prinia Prinia inornata
Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer White-browed Bulbul Pycnonotus luteolus
Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius
Tawny-bellied Babbler Dumetia hyperythra
Yellow-billed Babbler Turdoides affinis
Common Myna Acridotheres tristis
Brahminy Starling Sturnus pagodarum
Rosy Starling Sturnus roseus
Oriental Magpie-robin Copsychus saularis
Indian Robin Saxicoloides fulicatus
Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica
Jerdon’s Leafbird Chloropsis jerdoni
Purple-rumped Sunbird Nectarinia zeylonica
Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica
Long-billed Sunbird Nectarinia lotenia
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
Streaked Weaver Ploceus manyar
White-rumped Munia Lonchura striata
Scaly-breasted Munia Lonchura punctulata
Tricoloured Munia Lonchura Malacca
Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava
Paddyfield Pipit Anthus rufulus

Participants: Prof. Sarath Kotagama, Rex De Silva, Shamila Perera, Rahal Fernando, Gayan Budhdhika , Akila Kularatne, Ayanthi Samarajeewa, Rohantha Samarajeewa, Madubashini Jayawardhane, Yuraji Karunaratne, G.K. Kumara, A.S.M. Rufki, Rohan Kaththiriarachchi, Mahitha Kaththiriarachchi, Chameera Senavirathne, G. Herath, Thena Perera, Nishanthi Perera, P. Amudesh, Wilson Kulasuriya, Thilaka Batagoda.

Indrika Pradeepa provided the bird list and photos.

Reported by Nishanthi Perera.