• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Sri Lanka species (1 Viewer)

Mark Harper

Mark Harper

World Birder
Was searching for Sri Lanka Scaly Thrush in Sinharaja when we found this bird. The local guide believed it to be a immature Sri Lanka Scaly Thrush, but I cannot find a description for that and photos I have seen of immature Scaly Thrushes, from which it was split, look much like the adult.

Spot-winged Thrushes were common in the area, but young birds don’t look like this. Indian Blackbirds are not as far as I am aware be found in the area, preferring higher altitudes.

My impression on size was that it was smaller than a young Blackbird, but that is subjective as it was 20 metres away in dark undergrowth. Brown-capped Babbler was one option that crossed my mind, but no idea what immature birds look like.

The colour in the photo I believe is fairly accurate compared to how I saw it in dark undergrowth. There was some faint paler spotting on the breast, but other than that uniform in colour.

Any help would be appreciated.
 

Attachments

  • CB3FFECB-1426-422E-AB2C-2D942033EA37.jpg
    CB3FFECB-1426-422E-AB2C-2D942033EA37.jpg
    49.1 KB · Views: 91
It is on the eBird checklist but I'd always thought it only occurred in the highlands around Nuwara Eliya, so it could be an error.
 
andyb39 said:
It is on the eBird checklist but I'd always thought it only occurred in the highlands around Nuwara Eliya, so it could be an error.
Click to expand...

It also occurs at Adam's Peak. Looking at ebird, there appear to be a few reports of it from Sinharaja........
 
Last edited:
My Sri Lankan birding friend has confirmed that this is a SL Whistling Thrush and also that there are records from the eastern part of Sinharaja, which is at a higher altitude than the rest of the reserve.

Mark, he was asking if you could provide a specific location, if you don't mind?
 
andyb39 said:
My Sri Lankan birding friend has confirmed that this is a SL Whistling Thrush and also that there are records from the eastern part of Sinharaja, which is at a higher altitude than the rest of the reserve.

Mark, he was asking if you could provide a specific location, if you don't mind?
Click to expand...

Wow, Mark scores! (and well done Andy Adcock :t:)
 
andyb39 said:
My Sri Lankan birding friend has confirmed that this is a SL Whistling Thrush and also that there are records from the eastern part of Sinharaja, which is at a higher altitude than the rest of the reserve.

Mark, he was asking if you could provide a specific location, if you don't mind?
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Andy.

I was being guided so don’t know the name of the spot. There is a research centre at the end of a trail that goes past a turn off signposted 500m to a giant tree. There is a stream running past bird the research centre and the bird was immediately the other side of the stream.

Looks like I will have to settle for 32 of 33 endemics, but the highlight for me was Sri Lanka Bay Owl, one of nine species of Owl seen.
 
Mark Harper said:
Thanks for that Andy.

I was being guided so don’t know the name of the spot. There is a research centre at the end of a trail that goes past a turn off signposted 500m to a giant tree. There is a stream running past bird the research centre and the bird was immediately the other side of the stream.

Looks like I will have to settle for 32 of 33 endemics, but the highlight for me was Sri Lanka Bay Owl, one of nine species of Owl seen.
Click to expand...

Pretty impressive! Which endemic did you miss?

My contact is asking me for the date of the sighting.

I'm going to SL on 30th Nov for 2.5 days. I'm hoping to clean up around Nuwara Eliya and to get the Owlet at Kitulgala.
 
Last edited:
andyb39 said:
Pretty impressive! Which endemic did you miss?

My contact is asking me for the date of the sighting.

I'm going to SL on 30th Nov for 2.5 days. I'm hoping to clean up around Nuwara Eliya and to get the Owlet at Kitulgala.
Click to expand...

Sri Lanka isn't that hard to get the endemics Andy, I got everything but Oriental Bay and Serendib Scops Owls which I didn't try for, in 6 days which included travelling between sites.

So Mark missed the Scaly Thrush (?) or whatever they call it these days, we got it in Victoria Park IIRC.
 
Last edited:
andyadcock said:
Sri Lanka isn't that hard Andy, I got everything but Oriental Bay and Serendib Scops Owls which I didn't try for, in 6 days which included travelling between sites.

So Mark missed the Scaly Thrush (?) or whatever they call it these days, we got it in Victoria Park IIRC.
Click to expand...

I haven't been to the NE area yet. I did Uda Walawe and Sinharaja a few years ago.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 5 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

O
Dark-sided Flycatcher, Sri Lanka?
Replies
1
Views
541
MacNara
M
K
Jv. Raptor - Kithulgala, Sri Lanka
Replies
3
Views
580
kusaltmunasinghe
K
M
Buzzard sp - Horton's Plain, Sri Lanka Nov 2023
Replies
10
Views
941
Muppit17
M
T
Name of this awesome singing Sri Lankan bird?? mp3 attached
Replies
3
Views
435
thommiboy89
T
Deb335077
wader taken in Sri Lanka - Jan '23
Replies
1
Views
372
Andrew Whitehouse
Andrew Whitehouse

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top