Bird Watching Tours Sri Lanka
Bird Watching In Sri Lanka: Let Us Help You Find the Birds You Desire
Sri Lanka is blessed with wondrous avifauna. Our passionate birding guides invite you to avail yourself of the numerous opportunities to go bird watching in Sri Lanka with us. Explore Sri Lanka’s extraordinary world of colourful birds along with the bonus of fascinating flora and fauna on bird watching tours Sri Lanka. The unique aspect of bird watching in Sri Lanka is that it’s a tropical island in the Indian Ocean situated 10° north of the equator which makes the island favourable for diverse climatic conditions and natural habitats such as forests, scrublands, grasslands, wetlands, seas and agricultural lands.
Bird Watching In Sri Lanka: Feathered Variety of the Island
Of the 427 recorded species of birds seen in Sri Lanka, 250 are resident and 33 are endemic to the country (based on a new taxonomic study, this number may soon be revised). Birders can catch glimpses of most of the endemic birds, such as the striking Red-faced malkoha and Green-billed coucal that live in the wet zone, while the hill-country is home to Sri Lanka whistling thrush, Yellow-eared bulbul, Sri Lanka wood pigeon and the Sri Lanka blue magpie.
Others like the brilliantly plumaged Sri Lankan junglefowl, the shy Brown-capped babbler, the Hawk eagle, Sri Lanka hill myna, Sri Lanka grey hornbill, Crimson-fronted barbet, Yellow-fronted barbet, Black-capped bulbul, Serendib scops owl, Sri Lanka bay owl and many more can be found in forests and sanctuaries throughout the island.
On bird watching tours Sri Lanka, migrant birds such as the Forest wagtail, Grey wagtail, Asian brown flycatcher, Red-breasted flycatcher, Crested serpent eagle, Black eagle, African emerald cuckoo, Brown shrike, Indian pitta, Pied thrush, Indian paradise flycatcher, Rufous babbler, Crested honey buzzard, Kashmir flycatcher and flocks of migrant flamingos add to the splendour. Around mid-August the first migratory species arrive in Sri Lanka. Large flocks of sandpipers, stints, plovers, terns and harriers fly over from Northern India, Siberia, Scandinavia and Western Europe and settle along the lagoons and salterns of the eastern and the north-western and south-eastern coasts.
Other migratory birds, such as tree warblers, thrushes and cuckoos can also be seen in the forested areas while in the dry zone, the large lakes attract numerous varieties of ducks, and large aquatic birds such as the stork, heron, egret, spoonbill, pelican and ibis can easily be seen in the wetlands of the island on bird watching tours Sri Lanka.
The tropical climate and exotic landscape of Sri Lanka makes bird watching in Sri Lanka a true paradise for birders, researchers, and Ornithologists arriving from all over the world.
Bird Watching In Sri Lanka: Birding Parks in Sri Lanka
The country’s high endemism surpasses nations like Costa Rica and with such a variety of environments ranging from wet to dry zone, forest to jungle and hill country to lowlands, there's no end to the fascinating locations in which to spot many of these beautiful birds.
Sinharaja Rainforest: The last remaining virgin rainforest in the island. A day safari in this beautiful place will give you glimpses of 29 of the country’s 33 endemic birds. The Sinharaja Bird Wave is the biggest, best for viewing and the longest studied bird wave in the world and can be observed between November to March inside the rainforest.
Horton Plains National Park and the Kitulgala Forests: Two must-visit birding locations for bird watching tours Sri Lanka. All of the island’s endemic birds can be observed at these two places.
Mannar and Bundala National Parks: The best time to visit these National Parks is from October to April because that’s when hundreds of winter migrant birds arrive for feeding. Mannar is also a great location to photograph Flamingos.
Kumana, Yala, Wilpattu and Uda Walawe National Parks and Sigiriya Sanctuary: On a trip bird watching in Sri Lanka, endemic and migrant birds alike can be spotted at these locations.
