Sri Lanka blue magpie Kehibella

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Sri Lanka blue magpie

at Sinharaja Forest Reserve, Sri Lanka

Conservation status

Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)[1]

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata
 Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Corvidae

Genus: Urocissa

Species: U. ornata

Binomial name

Urocissa ornata

(Wagler, 1829)

Distribution map for Sri Lanka Blue Magpie

The Sri Lanka blue magpie or Ceylon magpie (Urocissa ornata) is a member of the crow family
living in the hill forests of Sri Lanka, where it is endemic.
This is a species of a dense wet evergreen temperate rain forest. It is declining due to loss of this
habitat. Sri Lanka Blue Magpie is usually found in small groups of up to six or seven birds. It is
largely carnivorous, eating small frogs, lizards, insects and other invertebrates, but will eat fruit.
The cup-shaped stick nest is in a tree or shrub and there are usually 3–5 eggs laid. The eggs are
white heavily spotted with brown. Both sexes build the nest and feed offspring with only the female
incubating them.
The Sri Lanka blue magpie is about the same size as the European magpie at 42–47 cm. The adults
have blue feathers with chestnut head and wings, and a long white-tipped tail. The legs and bill are
red. The young bird is a duller version of the adult.
The Sri Lanka blue magpie has a variety of calls including mimicry, a loud chink-chink and a
rasping krak-krak-krak-krak.

Endemic bird
« Back to main
Yellow-eared Bulbul Pycnonotus penicillatus

Sinhalese - Kaha kondaya, Guru Kondaya

Tamil -

This is another endemic bulbul. It is about the same size as a Red-vented Bulbul but fuller plumaged. Its
distinctive black and white head markings and yellow ‘ear tufts’ makes identification easy. Both sexes are alike
in appearance.
This is primarily a hill bird found only above 1000 metres but is not really common below 1300 metres. Above
this elevation it is a familiar and pleasing sight in our hill stations. It inhabits forest, well wooded areas,
gardens and orchards. The species usually moves about in pairs but parties congregate where food is plentiful.
It is a very active bird which moves about looking for the insects and fruit on which it feeds. It is very fond of
the fruit of the wild yellow raspberry which grows in the hills. The call is a pleasant, musical weet, wit wit, wit
wit, usually uttered on the wing which is easily recognizable when once heard. A low crr, crr alarm call is also
uttered.
The breeding season is from March to May with a secondary season from August to October. The nest is more
substantial than most other bulbul nests, being larger and more solid. It is constructed with moss, lined with
fine ferns, rootlets and placed in a small tree or bush about three to five metres from ground level. Two eggs
are usually laid which are white or pale pink in ground colour heavily blotched with reddish purple or reddish
brown and underlying markings of lavender.
 Ashy-headed laughingthrush Aludemalichcha
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The ashy-headed laughingthrush (Garrulax cinereifrons) is a member of the family Leiothrichidae.

The Old World babblers are a large family of Old World passerine birds characterised by soft fluffy
plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in southeast Asia.

Ashy-headed Laughing Thrush in Sinharaja Rain Forest

Contents

 1Description
 2Distribution and habitat
 3Behaviour
 4In culture
 5References

Description[edit]
The ashy-headed laughingthrush is a rangy bird, 23 centimetre (9 in) in length with a long floppy tail.
It is rufous brown above and deep buff below, with a grey head and white throat. Like other babblers,
these are noisy birds, and the characteristic laughing calls are often the best indication that they are
present, since they are often difficult to see in their preferred habitat.

Distribution and habitat[edit]

The ashy-headed laughingthrush is a resident breeding bird endemic to Sri Lanka. Its habitat is
rainforest, and it is seldom seen away from deep jungle or dense bamboo thickets in the wet zone.
This species, like most babblers, is not migratory, and has short rounded wings and a weak flight.
Although its habitat is under threat, this laughingthrush occurs in all the forests of the wet zone, and
is quite common at prime sites like Kitulgala and Sinharaja. It builds its nest in a bush, concealed in
dense masses of foliage. The normal clutch is three or four eggs.
Behaviour[edit]
As with other babbler species, ashy-headed laughingthrushes frequently occur in groups of up to a
dozen, and are also often found in the mixed feeding flocks typical of tropical Asian jungle. They
feed mainly on insects, but also eat jungle berries.

In culture[edit]
In Sri Lanka, this bird is known as alu demalichcha ("ash-babbler") in Sinhala language.[2] The ashy-
headed laughingthrush appears in a 3 rupee Sri Lankan postal stamp,.[

OCT

Lanka Salalihiniya - Sri Lanka Hill Myna (Gracula ptilogenys)

Identification
Rather larger than the Common Mynah; larger than the Salalihiniya but very similar to it except in having only
one part of wattles, those at the back of the head, and some black at the base of the beak. Sexes alike, and the
young differ only in being duller, and having smaller wattles.

Behavior
It lives in scattered colonies, but it does not seem to be quite so gregarious as Salalihiniya (The Common Hill-
Myna), usually occurring in pairs. It loves high trees, and may be found in the heart of tall forests, as well as on
estates and village gardens in their neighbourhood. It is a restless bird. The food consists of wild fruits such as
banyan, bo and nuga figs, wild nutmegs, and sapu seeds.

The breeding season is February-May and a secondary season in August-September. The nest is made in a cavity
in a tree-bole or large branch. The two eggs are pale prussian blue, blotched with purplish brown. They measure
about 33×25mm
Location
This Grackle inhabits the forests and well-wooded country of the wet zone, ascending the hills, n the wetter
districts of the south and west, to at least 6,000 feet. Occasionally it strays into the drier, eastern slopes of the
main range, but it is essentially a bird of the wet-zone hills.

Gallery
Tuesday, March 27, 2012

ඇටිකුකුලා[Ati Kukula]/Greater Coucal/Southern Coucal /Common Coucal

(Centropus sinensis)

Common breeding resident of home gardens, cultivations, scrublands, forest edges of wet zone and
dry forests throughout the island. It is a ground feeder and food consist of almost any animal which is
small enough to tackle such as snails, lizards, insects, frogs, small snakes, eggs and nestlings of birds
etc. It hunts solitarily or as pairs. It appear to be pair for life time and when feeding keep contacts
with each other with call which sound like hoop oop oop .... Breeding season is from February to
September and again from October to December. It lays two or three eggs in a domed nest concealed
in deep cover in thorny bushes or crown of a palm.

Sri Lanka spurfowl Habankukula

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 Sri Lanka spurfowl

Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Galliformes

Family: Phasianidae

Genus: Galloperdix

Species: G. bicalcarata

Binomial name
 Galloperdix bicalcarata

(Forster, 1781)

The Sri Lanka spurfowl (Galloperdix bicalcarata) is a member of the pheasant family which
is endemic to the dense rainforests of Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka, this bird is known as haban kukula -
හබන් කුකුලා in Sinhala Language.[2]
It is a very secretive bird, and despite its size is difficult to see as it slips through dense undergrowth.
Often the only indication of its presence is its distinctive ringing call, consisting of series of three-
syllabled whistles. Kitulgala and Sinharaja are sites where there is a chance of seeing this bird.
This spurfowl is one of three species of bird in the genus Galloperdix. It is a ground nesting bird,
which lays 2-5 eggs in a scrape.
Sri Lanka spurfowl is ~ 37 cm long bird. Both sexes have brown upperparts, wings and tail.
The males exhibit vivid crimson red legs and bare facial skin and striking black and white dorsal
plumage that extends to its head. There is also extensive white ocellation on the sepia wings and
upperback.
The legs of both sexes have multiple metatarsal spurs, which give rise to the specific name. The
female has chestnut underparts and a plain brown back and wings. She is more prominently crested
than the male.
Sri Lanka spurfowl is a seasonally terrestrial species, like most of its near relatives. It scratches
vigorously amongst the leaf litter of the forest floor for invertebrates, especially mollusks and insects.
It will also take various seeds, fallen fruit and spiders.

In culture[edit]
This spurfowl appears in a one rupee Sri Lankan postal stamp.[3]

Sri Lankan junglefowl Wali Kuula

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Sri Lankan junglefowl

 Male in Sinharaja Forest Reserve, Sri Lanka

Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Galliformes

Family: Phasianidae

Genus: Gallus

Species: G. lafayettii

Binomial name

Gallus lafayettii

Lesson, 1831
 Range

Gallus lafayettii - MHNT

The Sri Lankan junglefowl (Gallus lafayettii), also known as the Ceylon junglefowl, is a member
of the Galliformes bird order which is endemic to Sri Lanka, where it is the national bird. It is closely
related to the red junglefowl (G. gallus), the wild junglefowl from which the chicken was
domesticated. The specific name of the Sri Lankan junglefowl commemorates the French
aristocrat Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette. In Sinhala, it is known as වළි කුකුළා (wali
kukula)[2] and in Tamil, it is known as இஇஇஇஇஇஇஇ இஇஇஇஇஇஇஇஇஇஇஇ (ilaṅkaik kāṭṭukkōḻi).

Contents

 1Description
 2Classification
 3Behaviour
 4Reproduction
 5Habitat
 6Tailless mutant
 7References
 8Further reading
 9External links
Description[edit]

Female at Sinharaja Forest Reserve, Sri Lanka

As with other junglefowl, the Sri Lankan junglefowl is strongly sexually dimorphic; the male is much
larger than the female, with more vivid plumage and a highly exaggerated wattle and comb.
The male Sri Lankan junglefowl ranges from 66–72 cm (26–28 in) in length[3] and 790–1,140 g (1.74–
2.51 lb) in weight, essentially resembling a large, muscular rooster.[4] The male has orange-red body
plumage, and dark purple to black wings and tail. The feathers of the mane descending from head to
base of spine are golden, and the face has bare red skin and wattles. The comb is red with a yellow
centre. As with the green junglefowl, the cock does not possess an eclipse plumage.
The female is much smaller, at only 35 cm (14 in) in length and 510–645 g (1.124–1.422 lb) in
weight, with dull brown plumage with white patterning on the lower belly and breast,
ideal camouflage for a nesting bird.[4]

Classification[edit]
This is one of four species of birds in the genus Gallus. The other three members of the genus
are red junglefowl (G. gallus), grey junglefowl (G. sonneratii), and green junglefowl (G. varius).
The Sri Lankan junglefowl is most closely related to the grey junglefowl,[5] though physically the male
resembles the red junglefowl. Female Sri Lanka junglefowl are very similar to those of the grey
junglefowl. Like the green junglefowl, Sri Lankan junglefowl are island species that have evolved
side by side with their similarly stranded island predators and competitors. Uniquely complex anti-
predator behaviors and foraging strategies are integral components in the long evolutionary story of
the Sri Lankan junglefowl.

Behaviour[edit]
As with other jungle fowl, Sri Lankan jungle fowl are primarily terrestrial. They spend most of their
time foraging for food by scratching the ground for various seeds, fallen fruit, and insects.
Females lay two to four eggs in a nest, either on the forest floor in steep hill country or in the
abandoned nests of other birds and squirrels. Like the grey and green junglefowl, male Sri Lankan
junglefowl play an active role in nest protection and chick rearing.
Reproduction[edit]

The reproductive strategy of this species is best described as facultative polyandry, in that a single
female is typically linked with two or three males that form a pride of sorts. These males are likely to
be siblings. The female pairs with the alpha male of the pride and nests high off the ground.
Her eggs are highly variable in colour, but generally are cream with a yellow or pink tint. Purple or
brownish spots are common.
Occasionally, a female produces red eggs or blotched eggs.
The hen incubates her eggs, while the alpha male guards her nest from a nearby perch during the
nesting season. The beta males remain in close proximity, and guard the nesting territory from
intruders or potential predators, such as rival males, or snakes and mongooses. Sri Lankan
junglefowl are unique amongst the junglefowl in the brevity of their incubation, which may be as
short as 20 days as contrasted with the 21–26 days of the green junglefowl.
The chicks require a constant diet of live food, usually insects and isopods such
as sowbugs and pillbugs. In particular, the juveniles of land crabs are also highly important to the
growth and survivability of the juvenile and subadult Sri Lankan junglefowl. In captivity, this species
is particularly vulnerable to a poultry disease caused by the bacteria Salmonella pullorum and other
bacterial diseases common in domestic poultry. The chicks, and to a slightly lesser extent the adults,
are incapable of using vegetable-based proteins and fats.[citation needed] Their dietary requirements cannot
be met with commercial processed food materials. As a result, they are exceedingly rare in captivity.

Habitat[edit]
It is common in forests and scrub habitats, and is commonly spotted at sites such as Kitulgala, Yala,
and Sinharaja.

Tailless mutant[edit]
In 1868, the English naturalist Charles Darwin denied incorrectly the existence of a tailless mutant of
Sri Lankan junglefowl, described in 1807 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck.[6]
Lithograph of tailless mutant of Sri Lankan junglefowl by Jean-Gabriel Prêtre (1805 or 1806) commissioned
by Coenraad Jacob Temminck(Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, the Netherlands)

Civet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

For other uses, see Civet (disambiguation).
This article is about the animal civet. For the perfume, see Civet (perfumery). For the music band,
see Civet (band). For the economic term, see CIVETS.

Civets

African civet (Civettictis civetta)

 Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Class: Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Family: Viverridae

in part

Genera

 Chrotogale
 Cynogale
 Diplogale
 Hemigalus
 Arctogalidia
 Macrogalidia
 Paguma
 Paradoxurus
 Civettictis
 Viverra
 Viverricula

A civet /ˈsɪvɪt/ is a small, lithe-bodied, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa,
especially the tropical forests. The term civet applies to over a dozen different mammal species.
Most of the species diversity is found in southeast Asia. The best-known civet species is the African
civet, Civettictis civetta,[1] which historically has been the main species from which was obtained
a musky scent used in perfumery. The word civet may also refer to the distinctive musky scent
produced by the animals.
A minority of writers use "civet" to refer only to Civettictis, Viverra and Viverricula civets.[2] But in
more common usage in English, the name also
covers Chrotogale, Cynogale, Diplogale, Hemigalus, Arctogalidia, Macrogalidia, Paguma, and Parad
oxurus civets.
 Contents

 1Taxonomy
 2Physical characteristics
 3Habitat
o 3.1South Asia
 4Diet
o 4.1Coffee
 5Relationship with humans
o 5.1Urban environments
 6References
 7External links

Taxonomy[edit]
The common name is used for a variety of carnivorous mammalian species, mostly of
the family Viverridae. The African palm civet (Nandinia binotata) is genetically distinct and belongs in
its own monotypic family, Nandiniidae.
Civets are also called "toddycats" in English, "Luwak" in Bahasa Indonesian and "musang" in Malay.
The latter may lead to some confusion among Malay speakers and non-speakers alike as the
indigenous word "musang" has been mistakenly appropriated to foxes by certain printed media over
the years instead of "rubah", which is the correct but lesser known term. Foxes are not native to
Malaysia or Southeast Asia, and are never encountered in that geographical region, although they
exist in popular culture imported from the West, where the animal's habitat exists.

Physical characteristics[edit]
Civets have a broadly cat-like general appearance, though the muzzle is extended and often
pointed, rather like that of an otter or a mongoose. They range in length from about 43 to 71 cm (17
to 28 in) (excluding their long tails) and in weight from about 1.4 to 4.5 kg (3 to 10 lb).
The civet produces a musk (also called civet) highly valued as a fragrance and stabilizing agent for
perfume. Both male and female civets produce the strong-smelling secretion, which is produced by
the civet's perineal glands. It is harvested by either killing the animal and removing the glands, or by
scraping the secretions from the glands of a live animal. The latter is the preferred method today.
Animal rights groups, such as World Animal Protection, express concern that harvesting musk is
cruel to animals. Between these ethical concerns and the availability of synthetic substitutes, the
practice of raising civets for musk is dying out. Chanel, maker of the popular perfume Chanel No. 5,
claims that natural civet has been replaced with a synthetic substitute since 1998.[3]
Habitat[edit]

A captured civet in India.

Viverrids are native to sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, the Iberian Peninsula, southern China,
South and Southeast Asia. Favoured habitats include woodland, savanna, and mountain biome. In
consequence, many are faced with severe loss of habitat; several species are considered vulnerable
and the otter civet is classified as endangered. Some species of civet are very rare and elusive and
hardly anything is known about them, e.g., the Hose's civet, endemic to the montane forests of
northern Borneo, is one of the world's least known carnivores.[4]
South Asia[edit]
In Sri Lanka, the Asian palm civet species is known as "uguduwa" by the Sinhala speaking
community. The terms uguduwa and kalawedda are used interchangeably by the Sri Lankan
community to refer to the same animal. However, the term kalawedda is mostly used to refer to
another species in the civet family, the small Indian civet.
Sri Lanka also has an endemic civet species called golden palm civet. Recently this species was
split into 3 separate endemic species as Paradoxurus montanus, P. aureus, and P. stenocephalus.
In Bangladesh and Bengali-speaking areas of India, civets are known as "khatash" (Bengali: খাটাশ)
for the smaller species and "bagdash" (Bengali: বাগডাশ) for the larger ones and is now extremely
rare in Bangladesh (in the Khulna area of the country, the animal is also known as "shairel"). In
Assamese this animal is known as "zohamola" (Assamese: இஇஇஇஇஇ) which literally means "to
have zoha aromatic feces".

Diet[edit]
Civets are unusual among feliforms, and carnivora in general, in that they are omnivores or
even herbivores. Many species primarily eat fruit. Some also use flower nectar as a major source of
energy.
Coffee[edit]
Main article: Kopi Luwak
A caged civet.

Kopi Luwak is also called caphe cut chon (fox-dung coffee), in Vietnam, and kape alamid, in the
Philippines. It is coffee that is prepared using coffee cherries that have been eaten and partly
digested by the Asian palm civet, then harvested from its fecal matter.[5][6] The civets digest the flesh
of the coffee cherries but pass the pits (beans) inside, where stomach enzymes affect the beans,
which adds to the coffee's prized aroma and flavor.[5] 0.5 kg (1 lb) can cost up to $600 in some parts
of the world and about $100 a cup in others.[7]

Relationship with humans[edit]

The Malay civet is found in many habitats, including forests, secondary habitats, cultivated land, and
the outskirts of villages, and is highly adaptable to human disturbances, including "selecting logging"
(partial forest removal).[8]
African civets (Civettictis civetta) are listed as Least Concern, but in certain regions of Africa the
population is declining due to hunting, both direct and indirect poisoning, and an increase in large
scale farm fences that limit population flow. They are also seen as comparatively abundant options
in the bushmeat trade.[9]
Urban environments[edit]
Palm civets often venture into cities and suburbs, with people often complaining about civet feces
and the noise of the animals' climbing on roofs. Some studies have been undertaken to examine and
mitigate such human–animal conflict.[10]
හික් මීයා/කුනු මීයා[Hik Meeya/Kunu Meeya]/Common Musk
Shrew/House Shrew (Suncus murinus)

Common Musk Shrew is the most common, widespread and also largest of the ten species of
shrews in Sri Lanka. It inhabits houses even in large cities throughout the island as well as some of
the off-shore islets (Phillips W.W.A. 1980). During the day time it hides in crevices of walls, boxes,
piles of goods and emerges in the evening. It is a nocturnal animal and it is said that because of its
high metabolic rate shrew eat its own body weight of food in the course of a night. House Shrew is a
carnivores animal and it preys on geckos, worms, scorpions insects [ex: cockroaches], spiders and
even small mammals - sometime bigger than its own size - like mice, frogs and snakes. It also eats
grains such as rice and fruits when others foods are scarce. It is believed that House Shrew is not
indigenous to the Sri Lanka and has been imported many years ago with goods from Indian port
cities (Phillips W.W.A. 1980). House Shrew is an animal beneficial to the man since it preys upon
most noxious animal live in houses and also driving away rodents.
කලු වඳුරා/කකාළ වඳුරා[Kalu Wandura/Kola Wandura]/Purple-faced Leaf
Monkey (Trachypithecus vetulus)

Purple-faced Leaf Monkey is widely distributed in forests, villages and sometime even in urban
areas where there are tall trees with abundant food sources (Such as jak fruit,Mango, etc.)
throughout the island excluding northern peninsula. Four different subspecies have been identified
and Walas wadura or Bear Monkey (T.v. monticola) inhabiting central mountain region of the
country is larger than two of other lowland supspecies (Southern Purple-faced Leaf
Monkey[T.v.vetulus] found south of the Kalu river to
about Ranna of Hambanthota district while Balangoda being the north-eastern limits
and Western Purple-faced Leaf Monkey [T.v. nestor] of the south western wet
zone, Kalu ganga being the southern boundary and inland lower hills towards the Kandyan
hills). Northern purple-faced Leaf Monkey (T.v.philbricki) inhabiting in northern areas of the
island while Mahaweli valley being its southern and eastern boundary is the largest of the four
subspecies . It generally found in small groups under dominant alpha male with several females
and young, sometime up to about 30-40 individuals. In most areas it is very shy and never approach
people and disappears to the jungles once the presence of man is detected. It feeds mainly upon the
leaves, flowers and fruits and seeds of the trees. Possibly they may eat insects and tree frogs (Phillips
W.W.A., 1980). Other than man who hunts it for flesh and skins, its only enemy is the leopard. The
albino or semi-albino individuals are(were) not uncommon among all subspecies.