Sri Lanka Frogmouth (couple) in Sinharaja, Sri Lanka
Before visiting Sri Lanka, we bought a birds book and this was our number one bird to see on our "wishful thinking" list. This species has a peculiar look, the frog-like mouth, and is nocturnal, making it very hard to find. We did not find this one on our own, but we were thrilled to finally see it during the very last park visit of our trip. We had to stroll away from the path and go into the jungle for a bit to arrive at this sighting.
If you study other people's trip logs, you'll find similar spottings in Sinharaja. This is due to the behavior of this species where it returns to the same resting place for months in a row. Thus, if you don't disturb it too much, the spotting can be preserved and reused many times.
Anyways, the grey one is the male, the orange/brown one is the female. Here is a closeup shot:
The Sri Lanka frogmouth is a small frogmouth found in the Western Ghats of south India and Sri Lanka. Related to the nightjars, it is nocturnal and is found in forest habitats. The plumage coloration resembles that of dried leaves and the bird roosts quietly on branches, making it difficult to see.
