Sparrows, White Eyes & other small birds

Click on any of the smaller photographs below, to enlarge the image and see the caption.

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) Male - Across the world, this sparrow is found near human habitation. The same in Sri Lanka, where it also eats food waste, seeds and insects. (1)

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) Female - With some bread in its bill.

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) Female - Pecking at a chocolate doughnut.

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) Male - At the entrance to a nesting pot. These pots were commonly hung on houses, but less so now.

Velvet-fronted Nuthatch (Sitta frontalis) Male - These small arboreal birds behave like a woodpecker, except they can move in any direction, not just up. Red bill, black velvet forehead and eye stripe, lavender blue nape, mantle and tail ,with white chin and pink underparts. Live in forests in hills. (1)

Scaly-breasted Munia (Lanchura punctulata) - Scaly-breast, brown upperparts and yellow rump. Both male and female are alike. This one is building a nest in the garden trees of Warwick Gardens Estate, near Ambewela,.at 5,782 feet above sea level.

Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius fernandonis) Male - This bird derives its name from its nest building technique. It sews the edges of a large leaf together with spiders web to build a cradle in which the nest is then built. This is the hill race which is darker green and has grey on its throat and flanks. (1)

Scaly-breasted Munia (Lanchura punctulata) - Common resident in gardens and cultivated areas. (1)

Pale-billed Flowerpecker (Dicaeum erythrorhynchos ceylonense) - The smallest bird found in Sri Lanka lives in tall trees and feeds on fruit and small invertebrates. (1,2)

Sri Lanka White-eye (Zosterops ceylonensis) - This endemic species is larger and darker green than the Oriental White-eye. It is found in the higher hills where there are trees. This one is in the high hills of Sinharaja Tropical Rainforest above Deniyaya. (1)

Sri Lanka White-eye (Zosterops ceylonensis).

Sri Lanka White-eye (Zosterops ceylonensis).

Sri Lanka White-eye (Zosterops ceylonensis) - A pair eating small berries in the wildlife area behind Jetwing St Andrews Hotel in Nuwara Eliya.

Sri Lanka White-eye (Zosterops ceylonensis).

Oriental White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosa) - Can be found anywhere there are trees in the lowlands and lower hills, eating invertebrates and nectar. (1)

Oriental White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosa) - This one appears to have caught a small praying mantis.

Grey-breasted Prinia (Prinia hodgsonii leggei) - Found in areas of land which are covered with low trees and bushes. (1)

Pied Bushchat (Saxicola caprata atrata) - Live in grasslands of higher hills. This one is perched on a rhododendron in the Horton Plains National Park. (1)

Streaked Weaver (Ploceus manyar) - Has dark streaks on its breast. Male builds nests in swamps and at tank edges. The male builds the nest before he has a mate. Only when it is finished will he call for a female. She will inspect the finished nest and, if it is not good enough, she will reject the nest and even destroy it. Then he will build another, and another, until he makes one that's good enough. (1,2)

Streaked Weaver (Ploceus manyar).

Streaked Weaver (Ploceus manyar).

Streaked Weaver (Ploceus manyar) - Has dark streaks on its breast. Male builds nests in swamps and at tank edges. (1)

Grey-breasted Prinia (Prinia hodgsonii leggei) - Found in areas of land which are covered with low trees and bushes. (1)

A finished nest of a male Streaked Weaver Bird (Ploceus manyar) with eggs or chicks inside.

Great Tit (Parus major) with a colourful moth.

Great Tit (Parus major) removing the wings from a colourful moth.

The photographs below are on a slider. Use the thumbnail images or arrows ↔ to move right or left.

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) Male

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) Female

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) Female

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) Male

Velvet-fronted Nuthatch (Sitta frontalis) Male

Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius fernandonis) Male

Scaly-breasted Munia (Lanchura punctulata)

Scaly-breasted Munia (Lanchura punctulata)

Pale-billed Flowerpecker (Dicaeum erythrorhynchos ceylonense)

Sri Lanka White-eye (Zosterops ceylonensis)

Sri Lanka White-eye (Zosterops ceylonensis).

Sri Lanka White-eye (Zosterops ceylonensis)

Oriental White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosa)

Oriental White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosa)

Grey-breasted Prinia (Prinia hodgsonii leggei)

Pied Bushchat (Saxicola caprata atrata)

Streaked Weaver (Ploceus manyar)

Streaked Weaver (Ploceus manyar).

Streaked Weaver (Ploceus manyar).

Streaked Weaver (Ploceus manyar)

Streaked Weaver (Ploceus manyar).

Streaked Weaver (Ploceus manyar) nest.

Sri Lanka. So much more than you can see in a lifetime.

Bird References
1. Harrison J. A Field Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka, 2nd edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2011.
2. Henry G.M. A Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka, 3rd edn. Colombo: Oxford University Press; 1998.