Sri Lanka hill myna

Gracula ptilogenys

The Sri Lanka hill myna, Ceylon myna or Sri Lanka myna , is a myna, a member of the starling family. This bird is endemic to Sri Lanka.

This passerine is typically found in forest and cultivation. The Sri Lanka myna builds a nest in a hole. The normal clutch is two eggs.

These 25 cm long birds have green-glossed black plumage, purple-tinged on the head and neck. There are large white wing patches, which are obvious in flight. The strong legs are bright yellow, and there are yellow wattles on the nape.

The different shape and position of the wattles and the stouter orange-red bill distinguish this species from the Southern hill myna, which also occurs in Sri Lankan forests. The sexes are similar, but juveniles have a duller bill.

Like most starlings, the Sri Lanka myna is fairly omnivorous, eating fruit, nectar and insects.
Salalihiniya (Sri Lanka Hill Myna), Sinharaja, Sri Lanka Apologies for the atrocious picture of this salalihiniya. I was not working in the most ideal of conditions with the best view of the bird being against the light and the other side of the pair being covered by branches. Nevertheless for records sake I decided to take some pictures. Gracula ptilogenys,Sri Lanka,Sri Lanka hill myna,animal,animals,bird,birds

Cultural

In Sri Lanka, this bird is known in many names including ''Sela lihiniya'', ''Mal kawadiya'', ''Kampatiya'' in the Sinhala language. The name ''Sela Lihiniya'' is often mentioned in poems and other similar literature and is quoted for its melodious calls. This bird appears in a 10 rupee Sri Lankan postal stamp.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

Status: Near threatened
EX EW CR EN VU NT LC
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassAves
OrderPasseriformes
FamilySturnidae
GenusGracula
SpeciesG. ptilogenys
Photographed in
Sri Lanka