Sri Lanka's Birdlife

Sri Lanka is a bird watchers paradise, and has 240 resident species, with 26 of these being endemic to the island. On top of this rich variety of domestic birds it also has 200 or so migratory species which flock to the island each winter. An incredible 95% of the island's endemic species can be found at Sinharaja Forest Reserve, the last remaining sizeable tract of lowland rainforest on the island, and home to species such as the Sri Lankan Blue Magpie and Red-faced Malkoha which inhabit this rugged terrain and dense canopy. Horton Plains is alive with birdsong. Residents include 12 species of endemic birds, as well as all six of the highland endemics such as the dusky blue flycatcher, the Sri Lanka white-eye, the Sri Lanka bush warbler and the Sri Lanka spurfowl. Migrants such as the alpine swift and raptors, harriers and buzzards swooping silently in the sky above may also be observed on your gentle walk through the park. In the south of the island birds are best observed from Bundala NP and the real highlights are the large flocks of flamingos, up to 2000 at a time. The lagoons of Yala West and Yala East are home to many migrants alongside sandpipers, herons, terns, gulls, pelicans and storks including the rare black-necked stork, the tallest bird in Sri Lanka, which may frequent the watering holes alongside majestic peacocks.