Wildlife at Polonnaruwa
- Wildlife of Sri Lanka
- Polonnaruwa: Hub for Wildlife
- Polonnaruwa Bird List
- Perching Birds
- Woodpeckers and Barbets
- Kingfishers, Bee-eaters, Rollers, Hoopoe
- Swifts
- Nightjars
- Trogons
- Cuckoos, Malkohas and Coucals
- Parakeets and Lorikeets
- Owls
- Eagles, Hawks, Ospreys, Vultures
- Pigeons and Doves
- Fowl, Quails, Partridges
- Buttonquail
- Jacanas, Plovers, Lapwings, Terns, Gulls
- Rails, Crakes, Waterhens and Coots
- Pelicans, Cormorants, Darters
- Petrels, Shearwaters
- Ibises, Storks, Herons, Egrets, Bitterns
- Geese and Ducks
- Grebes
- Primates
- Other Mammals
- Birds of Sri Lanka
- Reptiles, Amphibians & Fish
- Invertebrates
- Ecology of Dry Evergreen Forest
Birds of Sri Lanka observed at Polonnaruwa
This list includes all bird species with records of sightings, including stray visitors, in all of Sri Lanka as indicated in Wikipedia. In the right hand column we indicate observations restricted to the area in the central dry zone in and around Polonnaruwa. Many species have not been seen here at all (shown below as “no records”) others have been observed commonly, occasionally or rarely. Rare observations are owed mostly to habitat limitations. Our records for Polonnaruwa cover a period of more than 47 years and are sourced from many naturalists working with the Primate Biology Program.
Click on a specie’s common name to see images and details about its morphology, distribution, habitat, conservation status and habits, as published in Wikipidia
PASSERIFORMES – Perching Birds
| Observed in and around Polonnaruwa |
||
| Indian Pitta | Pitta brachyura | Common |
| Rufous-winged Bushlark, | Mirafra assamica | Occasional |
| Oriental Skylark, | Alauda gulgula | Occasional |
| Ashy-crowned Sparrow Lark, | Eremopterix grisea | Rare |
| Pale Martin, | Riparia diluta | No record |
| Dusky Crag Martin, | Hirundo concolor | No record |
| Barn Swallow, | Hirundo rustica | Common |
| Hill Swallow, | Hirundo tahitica | No record |
| Wire-tailed Swallow, | Hirundo smithii | No record |
| Red-rumped Swallow, | Hirundo daurica | Common |
| Streak-throated Swallow, | Hirundo fluvicola | No record |
| Forest Wagtail, | Dendronanthus indicus | Occasional |
| Yellow Wagtail, | Motacilla flava | Occasional |
| Citrine Wagtail, | Motacilla citreola | No record |
| Grey Wagtail, | Motacilla cinerea | No record |
| White Wagtail, | Motacilla alba | No record |
| White-browed Wagtail, | Motacilla maderaspatensis | No record |
| Richard’s Pipit, | Anthus richardi | Common |
| Paddyfield Pipit, | Anthus hodgsoni | Common |
| Large Cuckooshrike, | Coracina macei | Rare |
| Black-headed Cuckooshrike, | Coracina melanoptera | Occasional |
| Small Minivet, | Pericrocotus cinnamomeus | Common |
| Scarlet Minivet, | Pericrocotus flammeus | Common |
| Bar-winged Flycatcher Shrike, | Hemipus picatus | Rare |
| Common Wood Shrike, | Tephrodornis pondicerianus | Common |
| Black-headed Yellow Bulbul, | Pycnonotus melanicterus | Endemic, Rare |
| Red-vented Bulbul, | Pycnonotus cafer | Common |
| Yellow-eared Bulbul, | Pycnonotus pennicilitatus | Endemic, No record |
| White-browed Bulbul, | Pycnonotus luteolus | Common |
| Yellow-browed Bulbul, | Iole indica | No record |
| Black Bulbul, | Hypsipetes leucocephalus | No record |
| Common Iora, | Aegithina tiphia | Common |
| Blue-winged Leafbird, | Chloropsis cochinchinensis | Rare |
| Golden-fronted Leafbird, | Chloropsis aurifrons | Common |
| Asian Fairy Bluebird, | Irena puella | No record |
| Brown Shrike, | Lanius cristatus cristatus | Occasional |
| Long-tailed Shrike, | Lanius schach | No record |
| Southern Grey Shrike, | Lanius meridionalis | No record |
| Blue Rock Thrush, | Monticola solitaries | No record |
| Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush, | Myophonus blighi | Endemic, No record |
| Pied Thrush, | Zoothera wardii | No record |
| Orange-headed Thrush, | Zoothera citrine | Rare |
| Spot-winged Thrush, | Zoothera spiloptera | Endemic, No record |
| Scaly Thrush, | Zoothera dauma | No record |
| Eurasian Blackbird, | Turdus merula | No record |
| Eyebrowed Thrush, | Turdus obscures | No record |
| Brown-capped Babbler, | Pellomeum fuscocapillum | Endemic, Common |
| Indian Scimitar Babbler, | Pomatorhinus horsfieldii | No record |
| Tawny-bellied Babbler, | Dumetia hyperythra | Rare |
| Dark-fronted Babbler, | Rhodocichla atricaps | Common |
| Yellow-eyed Babbler, | Chrysomma sinense | No record |
| Orange-billed Babbler, | Turdoides rufescens | Endemic, No record |
| Yellow-billed Babbler, | Turdoides affinis | Common |
| Ashy-headed Laughingthrush, | Garrulax cinereifrons | Endemic, No record |
| Sri Lanka Bush Warbler, | Bradypterus palliseri | Endemic, No record |
| Broad-tailed Grassbird, | Schoenicola platyura | No record |
| Lanceolated Warbler, | Locustella lanceolata | No record |
| Common Grasshopper Warbler, | Locustella naevia | No record |
| Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler, | Locustella certhiola | No record |
| Blyth’s Reed Warbler, | Acrocephalus dumetorum | No record |
| Clamorous Reed Warbler, | Acrocephalus stentoreus | Rare |
| Booted Warbler, | Hippolais caligata | No record |
| Common Tailorbird, | Orthotomus sutorius | Common |
| Greenish Warbler, | Phylloscopus trochiloides | No record |
| Green Warbler, | Phylloscopus nitidus | Occasional |
| Large-billed Leaf Warbler, | Phylloscopus magnirostris | Common |
| Lesser Whitethroat, | Sylvia curruca | No record |
| Zitting Cisticola, | Cisticola juncidis | Occasional |
| Grey-breasted Prinia, | Prinia hodgsonii | Occasional |
| Jungle Prinia, | Prinia sylvatica | Rare |
| Ashy Prinia, | Prinia socialis | Occasional |
| Plain Prinia, | Prinia inomata | Common |
| Asian Brown Flycatcher, | Muscicapa dauurica | Occasional |
| Brown-breasted Flycatcher, | Muscicapa muttui | Common |
| Dull-blue Flycatcher, | Eumyias sordida | Endemic, No record |
| Kashmir Flycatcher, | Ficedula subrubra | No record |
| Blue-throated Flycatcher, | Cyomis rubeculoides | No record |
| Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, | Cyomis tickelliae | No record |
| Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher, | Culicicapa ceylonensis | No record |
| Black-naped Monarch, | Hypothymis azurea | Rare |
| Asian Paradise Flycatcher, | Terpsiphone paradise | Common |
| White-browed Fantail, | Rhipidura aureola | No record |
| Indian Blue Robin, | Luscinia brunnea | No record |
| Black-backed Robin, | Saxicoloides fulicata | Common |
| Oriental Magpie Robin, | Copsychus saularis | Common |
| Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin, | Cercotrichas galactotes | No record |
| Bluethroat, | Luscinia svecica | No record |
| White-rumped Shama, | Copsychus malabaricus | Common |
| Pied Bushchat, | Saxicola caprata | No record |
| Pied Wheatear, | Oenanthe pleschanka | No record |
| Desert Wheatear, | Oenanthe deserti | No record |
| Isabelline Wheatear, | Oenanthe isabellina | No record |
| Great Tit, | Parus major | No record |
| Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, | Sitta frontalis | No record |
| Thick-billed Flowerpecker, | Dicaeum agile | Common |
| White-throated Flowerpecker, | Dicaeum vincens | Endemic, No record |
| Pale-billed Flowerpecker, | Dicaeum erythrorhynchos | Common |
| Purple-rumped Sunbird, | Nectarinia zeylonica | Common |
| Long-billed Sunbird, | Nectarinia lotenia | Common |
| Purple Sunbird, | Nectarinia asiatica | Common |
| Oriental White-eye, | Zosterops palpebrosa | Rare |
| Sri Lanka White-eye, | Zosterops ceylonensis | Endemic, No record |
| White-throated Silverbill, | Lonchura malabarica | Rare |
| White-rumped Munia, | Lonchura striata | Common |
| Scaly-breasted Munia, | Lonchura punctulata | Occasional |
| Black-throated Munia, | Lonchura kelaarti | Endemic, No record |
| Black-headed Munia, | Lonchura Malacca | Occasional |
| Java Sparrow, | Lonchura oryzivora | No record |
| House Sparrow, | Passer domesticus | Common |
| Chestnut-shouldered Petronia, | Petronia xanthocollis | No record |
| Streaked Weaver, | Ploceus manyar | No record |
| Baya Weaver, | Ploceus philippinus | Rare |
| White-faced Starling, | Stumus senex | Endemic, No record |
| Chestnut-tailed Starling, | Sturnus malabaricus | No record |
| Brahminy Starling, | Sturnus pagodarurn | Rare |
| Rosy Starling, | Sturnus roseus | No record |
| Common Myna, | Acridotheres tristis | Common |
| Sri Lanka Myna, | Gracula ptilogenys | Endemic, No record |
| Hill Myna, | Gracula religiosa | No record |
| Eurasian Golden Oriole, | Oriolus oriolus | No record |
| Black-naped Oriole, | Oriolus chinensis | No record |
| Black-hooded Oriole, | Oriolus xanthornus | Common |
| Black Drongo, | Dicrurus macrocercus | No record |
| Grey Drongo, | Dicrurus leucophaeus | No record |
| White-bellied Drongo, | Dicrurus caerulescens | Common |
| Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, | Dicrurus paradiseus | Rare |
| Ashy Woodswallow, | Artamus fuscus | Rare |
| Sri Lanka Magpie, | Urocissa ornata | Endemic, No record |
| House Crow, | Corvus splendens | Common |
| Large-billed Crow, | Corvus macrorhynchos | Common |