The Last Leg - Sri Lanka 13th/14th - and Merry Christmas.

Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot
 
Merry Christmas Everyone.
Have a Fantastic 2016
 
Another fine day in Paradise. The 13th is my last full day in Sri Lanka. I spent it walking up and down the Yapitakanda Road to the South of Deniyaya. Some rice paddies, villages and Rain Forest were the main habitats. There were lots of the (now) usual species in the garden such as Oriental Magpie Robin, Paradise Flycatcher, White-bellied Drongo and Purple and Loten's Sunbird.
 Young Green Forest Lizard
Palm Squirrel
The rice paddies had a few Eastern Cattle Egrets, White-breasted Kingfisher, White-breasted Waterhen and also Ruddy-breasted Crake in the denser, damp areas adjacent to the paddies. A Crested Serpent Eagle was eating a snake on a paddy wall and both Black Eagle and Rufous-bellied Hawk-Eagle flew past.
 Eastern Cattle Egret
 Indian Pond Heron
Crested Serpent Eagle
 
Further up the road, where more vegetation was present, the range of birds changed to include Slaty-breasted Crake, Layard's Parakeet, Plum-headed Parakeet, Common Iora, Sri Lanka Drongo and Sri Lanka Green Pigeon.
Black-rumped Flameback
Purple-rumped Sunbird
Alexandrine Parakeet
 White-rumped Munia
Plum-headed Parakeet
White form of Asian Paradise Flycatcher
Green Imperial Pigeon
Sri Lanka Swallow

Asian Palm Swift
Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot
Indian Swiftlet
 
The evening of the 13th turned quite "jolly" with Bandala and myself drinking too much Arrack again. We were joined by a couple of Russian herpetologists who pointed out some of the frogs I had been searching for. Finding is one thing. Identifying is quite another.
We all ate and drank for quite a while then crashed!
Up early on the 14th - I don't know how - packed and then Bandala drove me to the airport for the flight back to the UK via Dubai. Quite a few birds noted on that journey such as Black Eagle, Legge's Hawk Eagle, Jungle Prinia, Yellow-fronted Barbet, Hill Swallow and masses of herons and egrets.
Pseudophilautus sp.?
Pseudophilautus hallidayi?
Bandala - Feeling no pain!
Spotted Dove
Ruddy Mongoose
Sinharaja view + Water Buffalo

Black Eagle
Jungle Prinia
Legge's Hawk Eagle
Bandala and his lovely wife. Eco Villa Sinharaja, Deniyaya.
 
What an amazing two weeks in Sri Lanka. Would I go back? In a heartbeat, to the same hotels and also some new areas. I will be back.
 
This is not the last Sri Lanka post. I have kept all of the insect photographs for their own blog page. Butterflies, moths, dragonflies, and other Beasts. Not for the squeamish.


 




 







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