Clarification: Migrant birds throng Nuwara Eliya

Ravi Corea and Samantha Mirandu of the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society have informed us that there were erroneous and misleading information regarding several birds described in our news item with the above title which was sent by our Nuwara Eliya Correspondent and published in the Daily News of February 27, 2009.

They have sent us the following clarification:

“The common names of several bird species were wrong and were also not spelled correctly. The correct name of the European Cuckoo is either Eurasian Cuckoo or the Common Cuckoo.

The Chrimson Backed Woodpecker should be spelled Crimson-backed Woodpecker and it is more commonly known as the Greater Flameback. The correct spelling for Jordon Chlorophies is Jerdon’s Chloropsis or Jerson’s Leafbird.

The Hanging Lorakeet is known as the Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot, the White Bellied Eagle is known as the White Bellied Sea Eagle and the Brahmin Kite is known as the Brahminy Kite.

“Almost all the birds mentioned in the article other than for the Eurasian Cuckoo and Wagtails are not migrants species but birds native to Sri Lanka.

The Eurasian Cuckoo or Common Cuckoo as it’s known is a winter vagrant. There are close to 11 species of wagtails that visit Sri Lanka of which some are migrants and others are vagrants. The Palm Squirrel is not a bird, it is a mammal.”