Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush

Identification 

This is a small whistling thrush, at only 20cm. Adult males are dark blue with a darker head and back. There are bright blue patches on the shoulders, supercilia and forehead. The female is brown above and chestnut below, but has a bright blue shoulder patch like the male. The male sings its simple whistling song from trees, usually in deep cover. 

Behaviour 

This bird is very shy. They prefer thick under growths. Sometimes it comes out. It can be seen hunting or singing on sticks or rocks beside streams. They prey on creatures like insects, geckos. The breeding season lies from March to May. But the April is more important. They make the nest on banks or on branches of 5-10 feet tall tree. The neat is cup shaped. The “Varalla” and ferns are used as main building materials. Inside the nest is made out of dead leaves. About two white color eggs with pale and red brown colored patches and strips are laid at a time. But most of the time only one offspring is born. Hatching is done by female, but the feeding is done by both male and female.

Locations 

They live hidden in place with water flowa at about 3000 feet elevations. They can be seen in thick under growths near flowing streams�.They are recorded in Haggala Horton place. Today they are restricted to the higher elevations of central hills. This bird is difficult to find d