Among the many wildlife parks around Sri Lanka, Kumana national park is has best sceneries that you can see while at the game drive. Compare to the Yala national park, Kumana has lesser number of visitors mainly due to the distance / long drives from major towns in Sri Lanka.

 

The most unforgettable (still gives me chills) and most rarest Sri Lankan hill country leopard sighting I even had in my life.

One of the rarest / extremely difficult to spot, yet amazingly beautiful lizards found in the paradise isle of Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Rhino-horned lizard can only be found in the tropical lowland and mountain cloud forests of Sri Lanka. After scouting about 10-20 mins we finally managed to spot our first Rhino-horned lizard in Horton Plains National Park. To our surprise then we noticed that there were around 4-5 lizards right in frond of us but we didn't spot them until we see the first one and our eyes were adjusted to the colour pattern of this amazing creature. I must say they are the masters of camouflage :)

"Life and death are illusions. We are in a constant state of transformation" - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

This Black-winged kite was perching on the dead tree bark (on to right of the screen) with it's catch (some reptile I think) when I spotted him. But within few seconds he lost the grip of its catch and it fell down to the tall grass bed underneath. Soon as it happens he flew away from the perch in search of the delicious snack that he dropped at the scene allowing me to capture this flying moment. 


Location :  Horton Plains National Park - Sri Lanka
Name : Black-winged kite
Scientific name: Elanus caeruleus
Date of Photograph : 16th June 2020

One of the most rarest sightings that you can have in Horton Plains National Park - Sri Lanka. In fact this is my first ever encounter of Hotron plain leopards and to photograph it. Mesmerizing greenery and the always gloomy surrounding added extra vibrant to this shot as I believe. 

Why its hard task to spot leopards in Horton Plains National Park ? It's mainly due to two reasons, 

1) Habitat - Lush tall green grass for any animal can easy hide
2) Access - Horton Plains consist of one main route that connect two ends of the park. Also no one is allowed wander off the road to any other areas of the park. (These strict rules are to protect the wildlife and it habitats) 


Location :  Horton Plains National Park - Sri Lanka
Name : Sri Lankan leopard
Scientific name: Panthera pardus kotiya
Conservation status: Endangered (Population decreasing)
Date of Photograph : 16th June 2020

The Legge's flowerpecker or white-throated flowerpecker is a small passerine bird. It is an endemic resident breeder in Sri Lanka. Males have dark blue-grey upperparts with white tips on outer tail feathers (less apparent in female), white throat and upper breast. Females are generally paler with grey-olive upperparts. Can be seen in pairs or in small family parties.

Can be misidentify with Purple-rumped Sunbird by its short, stout bil. One of the difficult bird to photograph as its continuously in the move and also move very quickly.

Location :  Sinharaja Forest Reserve - Sri Lanka
Name: Legge's flowerpecker | white-throated flowerpecker
Endemism : Endemic resident breeder in Sri Lanka
Scientific name : Dicaeum vincens
Conservation status: Near Threatened (Population decreasing)

Ashy-headed Laughingthrush (Endemic bird to Sri Lanka)

The ashy-headed laughingthrush is a rangy bird, 23 centimetre (9 in) in length with a long floppy tail. It is rufous brown above and deep buff below, with a grey head and white throat. Like other babblers, these are noisy birds, and the characteristic laughing calls are often the best indication that they are present, since they are often difficult to see in their preferred habitat.

I manged to photograph this bird in Sinharaja Forest Reserve. One of my favorite shots as I mange to get the isolated bird with a clear background.

Location :  Sinharaja Forest Reserve - Sri Lanka
Name: Ashy-headed Laughingthrush
Endemism : Endemic resident breeder in Sri Lanka
Scientific name : Argya cinereifrons
Conservation status: Vulnerable