Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka

Department of Zoology
University of Colombo
Colombo 3.
2006
Sarath Kotagama
BIRD FLOCKS
SINHARAJA
OF
Bird Flocks of Sinharaja
by Sarath Kotagama
All rights reserved.
Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka, 2006
ISBN 955-8576-21-2
Published by
Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka
Department of Zoology
University of Colombo
Colombo 3.
Illustrations: Sarath Kotagama
K. D. Lakshman
Kelum Gunasekara
Pruthiviraj Fernando
Typography: Indrika Kaggoda Arachchi
First published 2006
Preface
Bird watching is a hobby that needs very little resources. It however builds
character, while the conservation contribution is very high. In the past, bird
watching was confined to a few. Today thanks to the wide promotion done
by the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (fogsl), it is much popular. The
break through came with its introduction in Sinhala and low cost publica-
tions, accessible to the average person.
Work at Sinharaja Wilderness commenced in 1981, with funds from the
Smithsonian Institution and implemented by March for Conservation, Uni-
versity of Colombo. Late Mr. P. B. Karunaratne was our principle field re-
searcher. Over the years we have compiled the list of species in and around
the Sinharaja. The studies have enabled us to broadly recognize the birds
preference to diverse habitats. He started the observations on Mixed Feed-
ing Flocks.
Bird flocks is a phenomenon well documented but least understood. Our
work has brought information on its formation, stability during the day and
its functional purpose. We have also been able to crack the vocal communi-
cation system among these very vociferous flocks.
Observing bird flocks is a major challenge in rain forests. The silent forest is
suddenly turned into the most noisiest place for a few minutes - the flock has
passed throug and its silent again. During that small time span one sees over
12 species and about 35 -50 birds. Capturing this is the challenge and an
experience in birding.
Many helped in this production those at the FOGSL office, - Anoma, Shyama,
Nirosha, Chinthaka, Chaminda and Saman have contributed in numerous
ways. Indrika has done a good job of doing the typography. Finally Athula
has brought the production out in good quality; as usual FOGSL remain
commited to informed, scientific bird watching promotion through educa-
tion and publications. This is another step in that direction.
Happy birding, please send your comments so that this book can be im-
proved further.
Sarath Kotagama
President
Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka
Department of Zoology
University of Colombo
Colombo 3.
2006-7-20
Abbreviations, Symbols & Definitions
Endemic bird
Proposed endemic bird
Male
Female
* Species name changes according to Rasmussen & Anderton (2005)
Globally threatened bird
Nationally threatened bird
Bird Flocks
One of the major features at Sinharaja is the presence of bird Feeding
flocks. These flocks give life to the forest which under normal condi-
tions is silent and uneventful. It is also the highlight of bird watching
in the forest. Most of the birds that one desires to see are seen in these
flocks. Studies on the feeding flocks initiated in 1981 have continued
to date. This has resulted in the feeding flocks of Sinharaja the most
studied group in the world.
Since 1981, 144 bird species have been seen in the reserve, including
104 nonraptorial, diurnal, forest species. A flock is generally consid-
ered to be any association of two or more species moving in the same
direction, and a feeding flock was one where this movement was
associated with feeding. Any bird or mammal seen moving with the
flock at some point during the observation period was recorded as a
participant. This inclusive definition meant that some animals in fact
generally unassociated with flocks, but moving by chance in the same
area and the same direction, were included in the flock record.
A total of 476 flock observations have been made up to date. Of these
298 has information on the total number of individuals in the flock.
Analysis of the results has provided some very interesting informa-
tion.
Species Composition
Flock averaged 12 species. In total, 59 bird species were seen in the
flocks, including 18 endemic species. There were 21 (9 endemic) found
in more than 25% of the flocks (Goodale & Kotagama, 2006). This level
of species presence in a flock is referred to as regular (Powell, 1985).
By far the most frequent species in the flocks were the Orange-billed
Babbler and the Great Crested Drongo, found in 92% and 89% of the
flocks, respectively. Also included 9 migrant species, between October
and March, and only one the Asian Paradise Flycatcher can be consid-
ered regular. In addition, 5 species of mammals (1 endemic) were seen
in the flocks.
Of the 64 birds and mammal species seen in flocks, there were 34 spe-
cies described in the literature as predominantly insectivorous, 17 as
omnivorous, and 13 as predominantly frugivorous.
BIRD FLOCKS OF SINHARAJA
7
Number of individuals in Flocks
Flocks averaged around 42 individuals. The largest contributor is the
Orange-billed Babbler. The majority of species had from 1 to 3 indi-
viduals on average per flock. The average numbers of Orange-billed
Babblers in flocks were 16 individuals and may go up to as 50 indi-
viduals.
Vertical distribution
The Orange-billed Babbler is found in a wide range of heights. The
Ashy-headed Laughingthrush is always seen below. The others are
generally distributed among the sub-canopy. The Red-faced Malkoha
is always at the top.
Road crossing and horizontal distribution
When crossing the road the flocks behave differently. The Ornage-
billed Babblers generally led the flocks and would cross the roads first.
The next species was the Great Crested Drongo. The ones with the
high road crossing index in the analysis indicate that they are fol-
lowers in the flock.
BIRD FLOCKS OF SINHARAJA
8
BIRD FLOCKS OF SINHARAJA
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BIRD FLOCKS OF SINHARAJA
10
Hypsipetes leucocephalus Black Bulbul
Sturnus albofrontatus Sri Lanka White-faced Starling
Loriculus beryllinus Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot
Gracula ptilogenys Sri Lanka Myna
Phaenicophaeus pyrrhocephalus Sri Lanka Red-faced Malkoha
Psittacula calthropae Sri Lanka Layards Parakeet
Pericrocotus cinnamomeus Small Minivet
Dicrurus paradiseus lophorhinus Great Crested Drongo
Dicrurus caerulescens White-bellied Drongo
Parus major Great Tit
Chloropsis aurifrons Golden-fronted Leafbird
Megalaima flavifrons Sri Lanka Yellow-fronted Barbet
Hemipus picatus Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike
Hypothymis azurea Black-naped Monarch
Zosterops ceylonensis Sri Lanka White-eye
Dicaeum vincens Sri Lanka Legges Flowerpecker
Turdoides rufescens Sri Lanka Orange-billed Babbler
Pomatorhinus horsfieldii Indian Scimitar Babbler
Nectarina zeylonica Purple-rumped Sunbird
Iole indica Yellow-browed Bulbul
Pycnonotus melanicterus Black-crested Bulbul
Harpactes fasciatus Malabar Trogon
Aegithina tiphia Common Iora
Sitta frontalis Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
Chrysocolaptes lucidus Greater Flameback
Picus chlorolophus Lesser Yellownape
Garrulax cinereifrons Sri Lanka Ashy-headed Laughingthrush
Cyornis tickelliae Tickells Blue Flycatcher
Rhopocichla atriceps Dark-fronted Babbler
Pellorneum fuscocapillum Sri Lanka Brown-capped Babbler
Zoothera spiloptera Sri Lanka Spot-winged Thrush
1
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Scientific Name Common Name
BIRD FLOCKS OF SINHARAJA
11
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BIRD FLOCKS OF SINHARAJA
12
Forest stratification for recognising occupancy levels
for birds & others
Emergent > 35m. top
Canopy 25-35m. mid
Sub Canopy 8- 25m. low
Under Storey
4-8m. high
1-4m. mid
0-1m. low
Ground
BIRD FLOCKS OF SINHARAJA
13
1. SRI LANKA RED-FACED MALKOHA Phaenicophaeus pyrrhocephalus
Sri Lanka Vataratu Malkoha
45cm. Endemic species.
2. CRESTED DRONGO Dicrurus paradiseus lophorhinus
Silu Maha Kauda
30-35 cm. Proposed endemic species.
3. MALABAR TROGON Harpactes fasciatus
Lohavannichcha
30cm.
4. SRI LANKA YELLOW-FRONTED BARBET Megalaima flavifrons
Sri Lanka Ranmunat Kottoruva
22cm. Endemic species.
5. INDIAN SCIMITAR BABBLER * Pomatorhinus horsfieldii
De-demalichcha
22cm. Proposed endemic species.
6. SRI LANKA ORANGE-BILLED BABBLER Turdoides rufescens
Sri Lanka Ratu Demalichcha
25cm. Endemic species.
7. SRI LANKA ASHY-HEADED LAUGHINGTHRUSH Garrulax cinereifrons
Sri Lanka Hisalu Upa-demalichcha _
25cm. Endemic species.
8. BLACK-NAPED MONARCH Hypothymis azurea
Kalu Gelasi Radamara
15cm.
PLATE 1
BIRD FLOCKS OF SINHARAJA
14
1
2
5
3
4
6
7
8
1. ASIAN PARADISE-FLYCATCHER Terpsiphone paradisi
Asiya Rehenmara
20cm. (40cm with tail streamer). Two subspecies.
(i) T. p. ceylonensis- Brown or dark phase.
(ii) T. p. paradisi- Indian or white phase.
2. BAR-WINGED FLYCATCHER-SHRIKE Hemipus picatus
Wairapiya Mesi-seratitta
15cm.
3. VELVET-FRONTED NUTHATCH Sitta frontalis
Villuda Nalal Yatikuritta _
13cm.
4. BLACK BULBUL * Hypsipetes leucocephalus
Kalu-kondaya
23cm.
5. BLACK-CRESTED BULBUL Pycnonotus melanicterus
Kalu Isesi Kondaya _
19cm. Proposed endemic species.
6. SRI LANKA LEGGES FLOWERPECKER Dicaeum vincens
Sri Lanka Pililichcha
9cm. Endemic species.
7. PURPLE-RUMPED SUNBIRD Nectarinia zeylonica
Nitamba Dam Sutikka
10cm.
8. GOLDEN-FRONTED LEAFBIRD Chloropsis aurifrons
Rannalal Kolarisiya
19cm.
PLATE 2
BIRD FLOCKS OF SINHARAJA
16
1
2
3
6
5
8
7
4
i
ii
1. SRI LANKA WHITE-FACED STARLING Sturnus albofrontatus
Sri Lanka Vatasudu Sharikava
21cm. Endemic species.
2. SRI LANKA LAYARDS PARAKEET Psittacula calthropae
Sri Lanka Alu Girava
30cm. Endemic species.
3. SRI LANKA WHITE-EYE Zosterops ceylonensis
Sri Lanka Sitesiya
11cm. Endemic species.
4. SCARLET MINIVET Pericrocotus flammeus
Dilirat Minivitta
20cm.
5. PALE-BILLED FLOWERPECKER Dicaeum erythrorynchos
Latudu Pililichcha
8cm.
6. YELLOW-BROWED BULBUL Iole indica
Bemakaha Guluguduva
20cm.
7. DARK-FRONTED BABBLER Rhopocichla atriceps
Vatanduru Panduru-demalichcha _ _
10cm.
8. LESSER YELLOWNAPED Picus chlorolophus
Hin Kahagelesi Kerala
20 cm.
PLATE 3
BIRD FLOCKS OF SINHARAJA
18
1
2
3
4
5
8
6
7
1. SRI LANKA MYNA Gracula ptilogenys
Sri Lanka Selalihiniya
25cm. Endemic species.
2. SRI LANKA HANGING PARROT Loriculus beryllinus
Sri Lanka Giramalitta
14cm. Endemic species.
3. GREATER FLAMEBACK * Chrysocolaptes lucidus
Lepita Maha-kerala
33cm. Proposed endemic species.
4. WHITE-BELLIED DRONGO Dicrurus caerulescens
Kauda
24cm.
5. GREAT TIT Parus major
Maha Tikiritta
13cm.
6. SRI LANKA BROWN-CAPPED BABBLER Pellorneum fuscocapillum
Sri Lanka Boraga Piri-demalichcha
15cm. Endemic species.
7. TICKELLS BLUE FLYCATCHER Cyornis tickelliae
Ratlaya Nil-mesimara
14cm.
8. SRI LANKA SPOT-WINGED THRUSH Zoothera spiloptera
Sri Lanka Titpiya Tirasikaya
21cm. Endemic species.
PLATE 4
BIRD FLOCKS OF SINHARAJA
2 0
1
2
3
4
5
7
6
8
References
De Zoysa, Neela and Raheem, Ryhana. 1990. Sinharaja: A rain forest in Sri
Lanka. March for Conservation. Colombo.
Goodale, Eben and Kotagama, Sarath. 2006 Twenty five years of recearch on
mixed-species bird flocks in Sri Lanka: Objectives, findings, new directions.
Siyoth-Journal of Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka. 1(1): 23-30.
Kotagama, Sarath and Goodale, Eben. 2004. The composition and spatial
organisation of mixed-species flocks in a Sri Lankan rainforest. Forktail. 20:63-
70.
Kotagama, Sarath, Karunaratne, P.B., Ratnayake, A. & de Zoysa N. D. 1986.
Faunal studies in the Sinharaja rain forest-II: Study of mixed-species forag-
ing bird flocks. ed.Hirimburegama, K. Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Session.
Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science, Colombo. pp. 134.
Powell, G. V. N .1985. Sociobiology and adaptive significance of interspecific
foraging flocks in the Neotropics. Ornithology Monograph. 36: 713-732.
BIRD FLOCKS OF SINHARAJA
2 3
The Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka
Founded in 1976 in the Department of Zoology,
University of Colombo has as its Obectives.
To bring together persons who are
interested in the study and
conservation of the bird of Sri Lanka.
To generate interest among lay men
and students of natural history in
the study and conservation of birds.
To institute, direct and carry out a
programme of field study, island
wide on various aspects of birds
biology.
To establish link with other groups
in other parts of the world with
similar interest.
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