Not a ‘bird-brained’ plan!

Activists flock to save birds:

Nilma DOLE

The gentle `whoo whoo’ calling of the Green-billed Coucal is indeed fine music to your ears and the dazzling ruby coloured Red-faced Malkoha makes you stupefied with Mother Nature’s creations.

Sri Lanka is blessed to have one of the world’s best hotspots of biodiversity with 33 species of endemic birds where many are already on the IUCN Red Data List for critically endangered species.

Green billed Coucal	Red faced Malkoha	Ashy headed Laughing Thrush

Often, we think that we have no control over saving birds that make Sri Lanka their home as many of us aren’t bird-brained activists but small things make a big difference in protecting our environment.

Speaking to the Sunday Observer, naturalist and wildlife photographer, CEO of Jetwing Eco-holidays Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne said, “Planting a `murunga’ branch is a haven for birds to ensure their protection”.

By landscaping your garden with a bird bath or a bird feeder, simple developments around your house will give Mother Nature a helping hand, he said.

However, the President of the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL) Prof. Sarath Kotagama said, “We need a long-term solution for the protection of birds otherwise the numbers will be depleted”.

“There should be awareness done from grass-roots level to protect Sri Lanka’s birds which are endemic by protecting bird habitats,” he said.

He further added that FOGSL has many excursions where nature lovers can join in order to see for themselves the beauty of the birds so that they understand the importance of protecting them.

Even though Sri Lanka was the first country in the world to have a natural reserve (wilderness sanctuary) in the 3rd century BC, there is threat that those `gazetted’ as nature reserves are bound to fall prey to development at the rate the population increases.

Says Gehan, “Habitats have to be protected but when politics comes into play, we have to careful when proposing development projects that might be a threat to nature”.

In a bid to uplift the avifauna knowledge in the country, the National Trust of Sri Lanka has published a book called the `Birds of Sri Lanka’ recently which enlightens readers about the endemic and common birds in Sri Lanka.

Being a collector’s item, the book has large pictures with which to identify birds, revealing useful information about them.

Roland Silva, the president of the association said that the trust was set up as a national body for protecting and safeguarding the tangible and intangible heritage of Sri Lanka including sites, monuments, sculptures, paintings, artifacts, music, dance, the fauna and flora of Sri Lanka.

The mandate of the Trust is to produce publications on technical expertise on what needs protection, in the form of light readable material and simple practicality when it comes to issues of preservation and protection.

White faced Starling	Ceylon Whistling Thrush

Other nature-friendly associations like the Wildlife Nature Protection Society and the Young Zoologists’ Association of Sri Lanka produce periodicals and have their own trips to sites of nature interest.

The `Ruk Rakaganno’ program works with business corporations to boost nature awareness with regard to protecting Mother Nature by having celebrities as brand ambassadors.

Every small step in protecting birds will give them a better flight to their dreams and it is we who can set them free!

The top 5 endemic critically endangered bird species are 1. Green-billed Coucal - Found in lowland rainforests like Sinharaja, Morapitiya, Kithulgala and sometimes in Bodhinagala.

2. Ashy-headed Laughing Thrush - Just like its name suggests, it has a hysterical laugh with an ashy head and brown body found in lowland rainforests.

3. White-faced Starling - Found in a few wet-zone forests, this rare bird it has a sharp call often feeding with mixed-species feeding flocks.

4. Red-faced Malkoha - Possessing a guttural call, these surprised-looked red-faced birds are found in the remaining tall forests like Sinharaja in which the male has brown irides and the female has white.

5. Scaly Thrush - Found in wetland, lowland and highland forests, it is a rather shy bird with a discreet call making is nearly impossible to spot.

Pix: Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne