Sri Lanka Bay-Owl

An overall sooty-colored cuckooshrike with broad white tips to the tail feathers. Male is dark sooty-gray with a slaty sheen, slightly paler on rump. Underparts paler toward tail; wings black. Female is very similar to male, but paler in general, often weakly barred with dark and pale gray on underparts. Male has a black mask, while female has dark lores and a faint eyering. Juvenile is blackish-brown above and brownish-gray below, heavily scaled whitish all over, with broad white tips on wing feathers. Immature like female, but more strongly and extensively barred below. Song is a loud series of whistles “pe-pe-pe-peew-peew-pew”; sometimes the starting notes are skipped. Found in all types of woodlands, including broad-leaved forests, sometimes even near cultivation during non-breeding season.

A small and elegant finch. More elongated than European Serin and much plainer. Note the unstreaked underparts and green wing coverts. Adults have a yellow face while young are browner. Call is a high-pitched trill, more buzzing than European Serin. Breeds in open woodland and scrub on rocky slopes of high mountains. In winter descends to arid and semi-arid habitats.

Tiny, hyperactive songbird usually found in conifer trees. Look for black stripes on the head and bold wing pattern. The namesake golden crown is usually just a small stripe, but can be flared into an expressive fiery-orange crest when agitated. Breeds in coniferous forests, usually staying high in trees. In migration and winter, often joins mixed flocks of other songbirds in a wider variety of wooded habitats. Very active; often hovers and flicks wings as it forages. Listen for extremely high-pitched call notes.