Emerald Dove - Sri Lanka

Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica) - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

Of all the pigeons found in Sri Lanka, the Emerald Dove is easily the most striking. It's brilliant green wings and red beak and feet make identification easy. It's a shy bird and as a result, although common,  is rarely seen. On my last trip to Sri Lanka I photographed this species in Sinharaja as well as in Wilpattu.

More photographs inside.

 Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica) - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

The sighting in Sinharaja was the best in terms of photography. We had just walked in through the gate and around the first corner of the main road when we saw a male Emerald Dove (males have a white patch on their shoulder) walking towards us. I was expecting it to stop briefly and then disappear into the undergrowth on the side of the road but fortunately this was not the case. The bird just walked straight at us and I was able to fire off a number of frames as it approached. It continued until it was well beyond where we were standing before it took flight.

Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica) - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

I was also surprised to see a number of them in Wilpattu. They were foraging along the edge of almost every road we drove on and took flight as the vehicle approached. They were probably on the road as they are not used to vehicles driving in the park (the park had been closed to visitors for years and opened up very recently). Most of them flew into the forest and disappeared into the undergrowth pretty quickly. One of them flew up and perched on a branch by the side of the road and allowed me to take the second shot on this post.

 

 Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica) - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

Both Wilpattu and Sinharaja are have a thick canopy and very little direct sunlight gets through. As a result, to get decent photographs of these birds I had to jack up the ISO. In Sinharaja I had to use an ISO of about 2000. All photographs on this post were taken with the Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens.

Sri Lankan Frogmouth - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan Frogmouth - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

One of the highlights of our recent trip to Sinharaja was being able to photograph the Sri Lankan Frogmouth. When I was planning the trip I did wonder whether we'd actually get to see one of these birds but I didn't get my hopes up because they are nocturnal. We were quite fortunate to come across a pair of them in a daytime roost.

More photographs after the jump.

 Sri Lankan Frogmouth - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

The birds are found throughout the Western Ghats of India and in Sri Lanka. Their habitat consists of dense tropical forest with thick undergrowth. The guide we were with did a good job locating this pair as they were hidden deep in the undergrowth well off the track. Their plumage helps them blend into the gloomy environment as well. However, the fact that they use the same daytime roosts for up to a month worked in our favour.

Sri Lankan Frogmouth - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

I was actually quite surprised by the size of the Sri Lankan Frogmouth. I had seen the Tawny Frogmouth in Australia and was expecting the Sri Lankan Frogmouth to be a similar size but it was actually 2/3 the size of the Tawny Frogmouth. 

Sri Lankan Frogmouth - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

Photographing this pair was quite a challenge. Firstly, the dense undergrowth limited the choice of compositions that were available. As you can see in these photographs, there is a branch that was diagonally between the two birds and made it impossible to get a clear shot. Secondly the light wasn't great. I had to bump up the ISO a fair bit to be able to use a shutter speed of 1/125th. There was no room to setup a tripod.

These photograph were taken with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens.

Sri Lankan Kngaroo Lizard - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan Kangaroo Lizard - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

I hadn't photographed a Sri Lankan Kangaroo Lizard until our recent trip to Sinharaja. Surprisingly, they were relatively easy to approach and photograph and there were a number of them in the leaf litter along the walking tracks in the park.

More photographs inside.

Sri Lankan Kangaroo Lizard - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan Kangaroo Lizard is an endemic, ground dwelling agamid Lizard that is found in the wet zone of the island (up to an elevation of 1300m). Its diet consists of insects, tender shoots and larvae. It is said to lay 4-5 eggs which take around 60-70 days to hatch. When startled, the Lizard may rise up and run its hind legs.

Sri Lankan Kangaroo Lizard - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

Photographing the lizard wasn't hard. I found a number of specimens in the leaf litter or perched on the rocks by the side of the road. Although they were alert, they didn't run away as I approached them. The quality of light in the area wasn't good as it was filtered through a thick canopy overhead. Shutter speeds for these photographs were around the 1/40th mark.

Sri Lankan Kangaroo Lizard - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

All photographs on this post were taken with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens. A tripod was not used.