Tinkling Cisticola

Small, dark-backed starling with lightly streaked, gray underparts and noticeable white face. Found in pairs and small groups within the canopy of forest in the lowlands and foothills. Only starling in Sri Lanka with uniformly dark upperparts, extending onto nape and rear crown. Most often heard call is a harsh “chyup”. Song is an untidy series of warbles and scratchy notes.

A small and dainty woodland-dwelling kingfisher with powder-blue tail and flight feathers, creamy collar, dark eye-stripe, and streaky brown crown. Singles and pairs are inconspicuous in the mid-canopy of parkland-like savanna and woodland, preferring more arid thornveld than other dryland kingfishers. It draws attention to itself with a loud, ringing “teeep-tiiii-rrrrrrr” and rollicking “trrreerrr-treeerr-treeer” calls.

Essentially a tiny brown tennis ball supported by tiny chopsticks. Dark brown above with densely packed black-and-white scaling on the underside. Gives the impression of a tailless rodent as it makes its way furtively through dense shrubbery and leaf litter. Can be quite vocal and is jarringly loud for its size, giving single well-spaced piercing whistles on different high pitches, and occasionally an accelerating, usually rising rapid series of whistles. Also gives a sharp chip.