Sri Lanka Frogmouth - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Sri Lanka Frogmouth or Ceylon Frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger) is a small frogmouth

Frogmouth

The frogmouths are a group of nocturnal birds related to the nightjars. They are found from India across southern Asia to Australia.They are named for their large flattened hooked bills and huge frog-like gape, which they use to capture insects. Their flight is weak.They rest horizontally on...

found in the Western Ghats

Western Ghats

The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...

of south India and Sri Lanka. Related to the nightjar

Nightjar

Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats . Some New World species are named as nighthawks...

s, they are nocturnal and are found in forest habitats. The sexes differ in plumage.

Description

Like all frogmouths, this 23 centimetres (9.1 in) long species has a wide and hooked bill with slit-like nostrils and the large head has the eyes facing forward to provide binocular vision. Within the genus it has a somewhat small wing and is distinguished by the wing coverts ending in veltety black spots tipped in white. The male is grey brown with fine barring and a spotted crown. Some males are browner and look more similar to females. The female is more rufous or chestnut brown. Indian specimens have black spots on the crown but Sri Lankan populations have no such markings. Formerly considered monotypic, the Western Ghats population have been named as B. m. roonwali. This population has the males with a brownish-gray wing mirror and yellowish spots on the underside (gray or white in the nominate Sri Lankan form). Females have a bright reddish-brown wing mirror and are unspotted below.

Habitat and distribution

This species is found in the Western Ghats

Western Ghats

of southwest India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

and Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. Its habitat is dense tropical forest usually with dense undergrowth but sometimes found in more disturbed habitats including plantations. Their presence can be overlooked due to their nocturnal behaviour and camouflage.

Behaviour

Frogmouths are rarely seen during the day except at roost sites or when flushed. They regularly use the same roost spots for months. When alarmed at their perch, they slowly move the head to point up their bill and can easily be mistaken for a jagged broken branch. They rely on their crypsis and will often allow close approach before flushing or will sometimes open their mouth wide in a threatening display. They are sometimes mobbed at their day roost by small songbirds. They are vocal at dusk, the call of the female being a loud screechy "shkeerauuw" which drops in loudness and ends is a series of hiccups. Another call is a series of rapid "skwar-skwar-skwar" which is produced by both males and females. The breeding season in southern India is January to April and February to March in Sri Lanka. The nest is a small pad made of moss lined with down and covered on the outside with lichen and bark. A single white egg is laid and the incubating bird covers it entirely and holds the tail flush with the tree to avoid breaking the outline and appears like a lichen covered snag. The male appears to incubate during the day. After the chick leaves the nest, a male bird removed the nest and the same branch may be used each year to build a new nest. The young bird may stay with the parents for a couple of months, huddling between the parents at the roost.

External links

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