Common Indian Tree Frog - Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Common Indian Tree Frog (Polypedates maculatus) - Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Tree Frogs are quite common in Anuradhapura and have an annoying tendency to crawl into houses and take shelter in bathrooms. I've come across a number of them on several trips to the area but hadn't photographed them until our last trip in July.

More photographs inside.

Common Indian Tree Frog (Polypedates maculatus) - Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

The Common Indian Tree Frog, also known as the Chunam Tree Frog, is found throughout South Asia. They have been identified as an endangered species by the IUCN. Measuring in at around the 7-8cm mark, these frogs are usually a shade of brown, yellow or grey with darker spots or markings. It's fingers are nearly un-webbed where as the toes are two thirds webbed.

Common Indian Tree Frog (Polypedates maculatus) - Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

These frogs are known to have day roosts which are used on a regular basis. They have a habit of wiping their skins with a secretion consisting of mucus and lipids to help reduce the loss of moisture. In warmer areas these frogs are known to secrete directly from the skin and adopt a lighter skin colour.

Common Indian Tree Frog (Polypedates maculatus) - Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

These photographs were taken with the Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens. Since these photographs were taken at night I had to use an off camera 430 EX II for additional light. Fortunately the Frogs in these photographs did not move around too much and made things a bit easier for me.

Common Wood-Shrike - Yala, Sri Lanka

Common Wood-Shrike (Tephrodornis pondicerianus) - Yala, Sri Lanka

The Common Wood-Shrike is a member of the helmetshrike family Prionopidae and is found throughout Southern Asia. The sub-species found in Sri Lanka is sometimes considered a separate species, the Sri Lanka Woodshrike. I photographed them in Yala and Anuradhapura in July.

More photographs inside.

Common Wood-Shrike (Tephrodornis pondicerianus) - Yala, Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka the Common Wood-Shrike is found throughout the dry zone and up to the mid hills. It can be seen in the wet zone as well but is rarer and localised. In Asia the  bird is found in Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Thailand and Laos.

Common Wood-Shrike (Tephrodornis pondicerianus) - Yala, Sri Lanka

The female of this species is duller than the male and appears to be slightly brown in colour. They are often seen in pairs and this was the case in Yala. The bird in the second photograph on this post is most likely a male and the other photographs are of females.  It is not a small bird and was easy to spot in the mid canopy. Fortunately they flew down onto lower branches and I was able to shoot a few clear frames of the bird.

Common Wood-Shrike (Tephrodornis pondicerianus) - Yala, Sri Lanka

These photographs were taken with the Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens. From a photography point of view, the fact that the bird was above eye level was a bit frustrating as the angle distorted the proportions of the bird.

Common Sailor - Thalangama, Sri Lanka

Common Sailor (Neptis hylas) - Thalangama, Sri Lanka

The wetlands in Thalangama are best known for the bird life around the marshes but they are also home to a large number of butterflies. I have seen and photographed the Common Sailor (Neptis hylas) at Thalangama on numerous occasions but, for some reason, never got around to posting them on the blog.

More photographs inside.

Common Sailor (Neptis hylas) - Thalangama, Sri Lanka

The Common Sailor is found throughout India, Sri Lanka and Burma. Its range is said to extend to Indomalaya as well. It has a wet and dry season form which only differs in the narrowness of the white markings on the wings. This species has been observed making sounds by clicking its foremost pair of legs. However, the reason for this behaviour has not been identified.

Common Sailor (Neptis hylas) - Thalangama, Sri Lanka

I did find photographing this species relatively easy as they let me get quite close to them. Most of my trips to Thalangama are early in the morning so this may have helped. The Common sailor is known for settling on damp patches, a behaviour I witnessed in Kandy (photograph below).

Common Sailor (Neptis hylas) - Kandy, Sri Lanka

All photographs on this post were taken with the Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens. I didn't have to use flashes to light the images as the ambient light was sufficient. I did have to bump up the ISO to 400 though.

Common Jezebel

The Common Jezebel is a medium sized pierid butterfly found in many areas of South and Southeast Asia, especially in the non-arid regions of India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand. More images and info inside.

The wingspan of both males and females range from 6.5cm to 8.5cm. The upper and under sides of the females wing  are similar to the male but the black edging to the veins and the postdiscal transverse bands on both fore and hind wings are much broader than that of the male.

This butterfly is common through most of its range except for the desert tracts, and up to an altitude of 7000 feet. It can be found wherever there are trees, even in towns and cities. The females can be seen flying amongst the trees in search of its food plants, while the males are more frequently observed visiting flowers for nectar or mud-puddling. It rests with its wings closed exhibiting the brilliantly coloured underside.

 

It has bright coloration to indicate the fact that it is unpalatable due to toxins accumulated by the larvae from the host-plants. Like other unpalatable butterflies the Common Jezebel is mimicked by Prioneris sita, the Painted Sawtooth. The Common Jezebel can be distinguished by the shape of the orange red spots on the hind wing. In the Painted Sawtooth these spots are very squarish whereas in the Common Jezebel they are more arrow head shaped. The Painted Sawtooth also flies faster and will also mud puddle.

Source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delias_eucharis

All the shots on this post have been taken with the Canon 7D and the EF 100-400mm lens. I used an ISO of 400 hoping to utilise a faster shutter speed and minimise the noise. I managed to get within 2 meters of the butterfy tocapture these images. The butterflies were photographed in Anuradhapura, Trincomalee and Colombo. The largest specimens were seen in Trincomalee.

Common Kingfisher

The Common Kingfisher is found throughout Sri Lanka, although it is scarce at the highest elevations. It is not as common as the White-throated kingfisher but can be found at most village tanks (man made lake). More images and info inside. Click the images on this post to view larger versions.

It is easy to identify this species of Kingfisher due to its small size and overall blue plumage but may be confused with the extremely rare Blue-eared Kingfisher. The Chestnut coloured ear coverts differentiate the common Kingfisher from the Blue-eared Kingfisher. However, it must be noted that the Common Kingfisher can hide its ear coverts when it adopts a hunched pose. The female of the species is identical to the male except the female has an orange-red lower mandible.

The Common Kingfisher is widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia and North Africa. It is a common breeding species across most of its Eurasian range but is a winter visitor to North Africa. It inhabits clear, slow flowing streams and rivers with well vegitated banks. It frequents scrubs and bushes with overhanging branches from which it hunts.

The Common Kingfisher nests in a burrow, excavated by both birds, in a vertical riverbank.  The straight sometimes inclining burrow is usually 60-90 cm long and ends in an enlarged chamber. The nest cavity is unlined but soon collects a litter of fish remains. The Common Kingfisher typically lays five to seven eggs which are incubated by both sexes. Usually one or two eggs from a clutch fail to hatch as the parent can't cover them.

It hunts from a perch around one or two meters above the water with its bill pointing down as it looks for prey. Once prey is detected, it dives to seize the fish below the surface. The wings are open under water and the open eye is protected by a third eyelid. The bird then rises, beak first, and flies back to its perch. The Kingfisher then adjusts the fish in its beak so that it is held near the tail and then proceeds to beat it several times on the perch until the fish is dead. The fish is then swallowed head first.

Source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Kingfisher

I visited the Thalangama tank on a regular basis during December and January with the aim of capturing a couple of decent images of this bird. I was fortunate enough to identify a perch which was frequented by a Common Kingfisher within the first couple of visits and managed to get a number of shots using the car as a hide. However, I wasn't too happy with these images as they needed to be cropped. I had to get closer to it. On my next visit, I waited until the bird had its back turned to me and got out of the car and moved closer on foot pausing whenever the bird looked in my direction. I managed to get within fifteen feet of the bird and captured the shots above. They have not been cropped. I was using the 100-400mm lens on the 7D.