Unsorted Wild Birds

Sri Lanka Birds – Listing of Forest Inland Birds

Below is a listing of birds found in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) – native, introduced or vagrant:


Birds of Prey … Owls / Owlets … Doves / Pigeons … Parrots / Parakeets … Water / Wetland Birds: Listing or Photos


Photos of Forest / Inland Birds found in Sri Lanka


Index of Forest Species Found in Sri Lanka: A – C (below) … D – M (Page 2) … N – Z (Page 3)

Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica) – Range: Breeds in Japan, eastern Siberia and the Himalayas. Winters in tropical southern Asia from southern India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia.

Asian Openbill Stork (A. oscitans) – Range: Tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Southeast Asia.

Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus) – Range: Southern Asia from eastern Afghanistan east to southern China and Indonesia. Many winter in peninsular India and Sri Lanka

Ashy-headed Laughingthrush (Garrulax cinereifrons) – Range: Sri Lanka

Ashy Prinia or Ashy Wren-Warbler (Prinia socialis) – Resident breeder in the Indian subcontinent, western Myanmar and Sri Lanka

Asian Emerald Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx maculatus) – Range: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam

Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopacea)aka Common Koel or Rainbird (in eastern Australia) – Range: Tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka to south China and Australasia. May winter in Eastern Australia

Asian Openbill Stork (Anastomus oscitans) – Range: Tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Southeast Asia

Baya Weaver (Ploceus philippinus) aka Tamil in Sri Lanka – Range: South and Southeast Asia

Bay-backed Shrike (Lanius vittatus) – Range: Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, and has recently been recorded from Sri Lanka

Bengalese Finches aka Society Finches (Lonchura striata) – Range: Sri Lanka, India, southern China, Malaysia, and Sumatra

Black Bittern (Ixobrychus flavicollis) – Range: Tropical Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to China, Indonesia and Australia

Black-capped Kingfisher (Halcyon pileata) – Range: Tropical Asia from India east to China, Korea and Southeast Asia. Wintering range extends to Sri Lanka, Thailand, Borneo and Java

Black-crested Bulbul (Pycnonotus melanicterus) – Range: Southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia

Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus) – Range: Southern Asia from southwest Iran through India and Sri Lanka east to southern China and Indonesia

Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus)

Black-headed Munias or Chestnut Munias (Lonchura atricapilla, formerly Lonchura malacca atricapilla) – Range: Southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia and the Philippines

Black-hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus) – Range: Tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia

Black-naped Monarch (Hypothymis azurea), also known as the Black-naped Blue Monarch – Range: Southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia and the Philippines

Black-rumped Flameback Woodpecker aka Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker (Dinopium benghalense psarodes)

Black-throated Munia or Jerdon’s Mannikin (Lonchura kelaarti) – Range: Southwest India, the Eastern Ghats and Sri Lanka

Blue-faced Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus viridirostris) – Range: Sri Lanka and southern India

Brahminy Mynah or Brahminy Starling (Sturnus pagodarum) – Range: Eastern Afghanistan, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka

Brown-capped Babbler (Pellorneum fuscocapillum) – Range: Sri Lanka

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) – Vagrant

Chestnut-winged Cuckoo (Clamator coromandus) – Range: Breeds in the Himalayas and north-east India. It winters in Sri Lanka and southern India.

Chestnut Munias (Lonchura atricapilla, formerly Lonchura malacca atricapilla) – Range: Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, western Myanmar, Java, Bali

Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus) – Range: Tropical Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to China and Indonesia

Common Woodshrike (Tephrodornis pondicerianus) / Sri Lanka Woodshrike (Tephrodornis affinis)

Common Myna or Indian or Talking Myna (Acridotheres tristis) – Range: Tropical southern Asia from Afghanistan to India and Sri Lanka. Self-introduced in South Africa, Israel, Hawaii, North America (especially in southern Florida area), Australia and New Zealand

Coppersmith Barbet or Crimson-breasted Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala) – Range: South Asia, with occasional presence in Southeast Asia

Crimson-fronted Barbets (Megalaima rubricapilla) or Small Barbets – Range: A resident breeder in south west India and Sri Lanka

Dark-fronted Babbler (Rhopocichla atriceps) – Range: Sri Lanka, and in the Western Ghats of southern India

Dull-blue Flycatcher (Eumyias sordida) – Range: Hills of central Sri Lanka

Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta)

Eurasian Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus) – Range: NW Europe to N Africa and eastwards to C Siberia, humid regions of southern Asia to Japan and C Malaysia. Also Sri Lanka and the Canary, Azores, and Cape Verde Islands

European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) – Range: Southern Europe and in parts of north Africa and western Asia. Winters in tropical Africa or North-Western India, southern India and Sri Lanka

Greater Adjutant, (Leptoptilos dubius) – Range: Southern Asia from Pakistan and India, Sri Lanka east to Borneo, but is now restricted to two separate small breeding populations; in Assam and Cambodia. Winter south to Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar.

Greater Flameback Woodpecker (Chrysocolaptes lucidus) aka Large Golden-backed Woodpecker or Malherbe’s Golden-backed Woodpecker – Range: Indian subcontinent eastwards through tropical southern Asia to the Philippines and Indonesia

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus) – Range: Tropical southern Asia from Kashmir, India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia

Green-billed Coucal (Centropus chlororhynchos) – Rainforests of southwest Sri Lanka

Grey-bellied Cuckoo or the Indian Plaintive Cuckoo (Cacomantis passerinus) – Range: Tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka to south China and Indonesia

Grey-breasted Prinia (Prinia hodgsonii) – A resident breeder in the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka and southeast Asia.

Hill Myna (Gracula religiosa) – Range: Tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia and has been introduced to the USA

Indian Cuckoo (Cuculus micropterus) – Range: Tropical southern Asia from Pakistan and India, Sri Lanka east to Indonesia.

House Crow (Corvus splendens), also known as the Colombo Crow – Range: Southern Asia, being native to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Laccadive Islands, South West Thailand and coastal southern Iran. Introduced to East Africa around Zanzibar and Port Sudan and Australia

Indian Cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis) – Range: Tropical Asia from Oman, Yemen, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka into Southeast Asia

Indian Nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus) – Range: India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia

Indian Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii) – Range: Europa, Asia and Africa), breeding in southern Iran and east to India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka

Indian Robin (Saxicoloides fulicata) – Range: Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka

Indian Scimitar Babbler (Pomatorhinus horsfieldii) – Range: India and Sri Lanka

Indian Swiftlet or Indian Edible-nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus unicolor) – Breeds in the hills of Sri Lanka and south west India.

Jerdon’s Mannikins or Black-throated Munias (Lonchura kelaarti) – Range: Southwest India, the Eastern Ghats and Sri Lanka

Jerdon’s Nightjar (Caprimulgus atripennis) – Range: Southern India and Sri Lanka

Jungle Bush Quail (Perdicula asiatica) – Range: South Asia. specifically India and Sri Lanka

Jungle Prinia (Prinia sylvatica)

Kashmir Flycatcher (Ficedula subrubra) – Range: North-west Himalayas in the Kashmir area of Pakistan and India. It is migratory and winters in the hills of central Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats of India

La Fayette’s Junglefowl

Lesser Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna javanica) or Indian Whistling Duck – Range: South Asia and southeast Asia. From the Pakistan lower river valleys eastwards across most of peninsular India, Nepal terai, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, south China, to Vietnam

Lesser Yellownape (Picus chlorolophus) – Range: Tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to south China and Sumatra

Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger) – Range: Ttropical south Asia from southern Pakistan through India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia

Long-billed Plover (Charadrius placidus) – Range: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Malabar Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus)

Malabar Trogon (Harpactes fasciatus) – Range: Mostly restricted to Sri Lanka and western India. A few small pockets of distribution exist in the Eastern Ghats and Central India.

Nutmeg Mannikins or Spice Finches (Lonchura punctulata) – Range: Tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia and the Philippines

Orange-billed Babbler (Turdoides rufescens) – Range: Sri Lanka

Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher also known as the Black-backed Kingfisher (Ceyx erithaca) – Range: Lowland forests in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam

Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis) – Range: Tropical southern Asia from Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia, south China and the Philippines

Pacific Swallow or Hill Swallow (Hirundo tahitica)

Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala) – Range: Asia from India and Sri Lanka to southeast Asia

Pelzeln’s Finches aka Yellow Finches or Saffron Finches (Lonchura punctulata) – Range: Sri Lanka, India, southern China, Taiwan, Luzon, Malaysia, Indonesia

Plain Prinia, or the Plain, or White-browed Wren-Warbler (Prinia inornata)

Red Avadavat / Red Munia / Strawberry Finch (Amandava amandava)

Red-faced Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus pyrrhocephalus) – Range: Endemic to Sri Lanka

Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) – Range: Tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Burma and southwestern China. Self-introduced in the wild in many Pacific islands including Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and Hawaii. Established itself in parts of Dubai, the United Arab Emirates and New Zealand.

Richard’s Pipit (Anthus richardi) – Range: Northern Asia, but migrates south. Vagrant to western Europe

Scaly-breasted Munias aka Spice Finches or Nutmeg Mannikins (Lonchura punctulata) – Range: Sri Lanka, India, southern China, Taiwan, Luzon, Malaysia, Indonesia

Slaty-legged Crake or Banded Crake (Rallina eurizonoides) – Range: South Asia east from India and Sri Lanka to the Philippines and Indonesia

Sociable Lapwing or Sociable Plover (Vanellus gregarius) – Range: Russia and Kazakhstan. Migrates south through Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey, to key wintering sites in Israel, Syria, Eritrea, Sudan and north-west India. Birds winter occasionally in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Oman

Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus), also known as the Antarctic Giant Petrel, Giant Fulmar, Stinker, and Stinkpot – Seabird

Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus) – Range: Sea coasts and adjacent hinterland on the Chukchi Peninsula and southwards along the isthmus of the Kamchatka peninsula. Migrates down the Pacific coast through Japan, North Korea, South Korea and China, to its main wintering grounds in South and South-East Asia, where it has been recorded from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore

Sirkeer Malkoha or Sirkeer Cuckoo (Phaenicophaeus leschenaultii) – Range: Sub-Himalayan Indian subcontinent, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka; patchy in Pakistan and Rajasthan

Sri Lanka Blue Magpie or Ceylon Magpie (Urocissa ornata) – Range: Hill forests of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Frogmouth (Batrachostomus s moniliger)

Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill aka Ceylon Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros gingalensis)

Sri Lanka Junglefowl (Gallus lafayetii)

Sri Lanka Myna (Gracula ptilogenys) – Range: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka White-eye (Zosterops ceylonensis) – previously referred to as Ceylon White-eye – Found mainly in the highlands

Stork-billed Kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis) – Range: Tropical south Asia from India and Sri Lanka to Indonesia

Swinhoe’s Snipe (Gallinago megala) also known as Forest Snipe or Chinese Snipe – Range: Central and southern Siberia and Mongolia. Migrate to eastern and southern India, Sri Lanka, south-eastern China, South-East Asia and New Guinea

Tawny-bellied Babbler (Dumetia hyperythra) – Range: Southeast Asia (India, Sri Lanka and southwest Nepal)

Tricolored Munia (Lonchura malacca) – Native species

Velvet-fronted Nuthatch (Sitta frontalis) – Range: Southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to south China and Indonesia

Watercock (Gallicrex cinerea) – Range: South Asia from India and Sri Lanka to south China, Japan and Indonesia

White-backed Finches or White-backed Munias (Lonchura striata) – Range: Sri Lanka, India, southern China, Malaysia, and Sumatra

White-bellied Drongo (Dicrurus caerulescens) – Range: India and Sri Lanka

White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus) – Range: South Asia from India and Sri Lanka to south China and Indonesia

White-browed Bulbul (Pycnonotus luteolus) – Range: Endemic to Sri Lanka and the coasts of peninsular India

White-browed Fantail (Rhipidura aureola) – Range: Tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Vietnam

White-faced Starling (Sturnus albofrontatus) – Range: Sri Lanka

White-naped Woodpecker (Chrysocolaptes festivus) – Range: India and Sri Lanka

White’s Thrush (Zoothera dauma – sub-species: Z. d. imbicata) – Range: Hills of Sri Lanka

White-throated Flowerpecker or Legge’s Flowerpecker (Dicaeum vincens) – Range: Sri Lanka

Wire-tailed Swallow (Hirundo smithii) – Uncommon Vagrant

Wood Snipe (Gallinago nemoricola) – Range: Himalayas of northern India, Nepal, Bhutan and southern China. Vagrant in central and southern India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, north Thailand and Laos.

Yellow-billed Babbler (Turdoides affinis) – Range: Sri Lanka and southern India

Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis) – Range: Tropical Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Japan and Indonesia

Yellow-browed Bulbul (Iole indica) – Range: Hills of Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats of India and in small pockets of the Eastern Ghats of India. Restricted range, but can readily be found at sites such as Kitulgala and Sinharaja in Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats

Yellow-eared Bulbul (Pycnonotus penicillatus) – Range: Highlands of Sri Lanka

Yellow-fronted Barbets (Megalaima flavifrons) – Range: Sri Lanka

 
 
 
 
 

Gordon Ramel

Gordon is an ecologist with two degrees from Exeter University. He's also a teacher, a poet and the owner of 1,152 books. Oh - and he wrote this website.

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