Sri Lanka

[Merlin]

We also did the culture thing visiting Dambula Golden Temple (pic 1) and the ruined city of Polonnaruwa (pics 2,3) But thats not what you birders want to see.
Later we went down to the south coast and Yala West National Park, apart from Elephant, Crocodile, Jackal, Monitor Lizard, Mongoose and various types of Deer and Monkey. We finally did some birding even though we arrived in the heat of mid-afternoon we did manage to see:-

Asian Openbill Stork
Barn Swallow
Black-headed Gull
Black-Headed Ibis
Blue-tailed Bee-eater
Brahminy Kite
Brown-headed Gull
Cattle Egret
Chestnut-headed Bee-eater
Common Tern
Crested Treeswift
Great White Egret
Green Bee-eater
Grey -headed Fish Eagle
Gull-billed Tern
Hoopoe
Indian Peafowl
Kestrel
Little Egret
Malabar Pied Hornbill
Painted Stork
Pale-billed Flowerpecker
Pompadour Green Pigeon
Purple Sunbird
Red Vented Bulbul
Roseate Tern
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Rufus-winged Bush Lark
Snipe
Sri Lanka Jungle Fowl
White Bellied Sea Eagle
White-throated Kingfisher

[Merlin]

Last post from me on Sri Lanka, overall the place is magnificent its only a small island so getting from one site to another is not such a great deal as with some other countries. And the journey can be just as rewarding, the roadside powerlines on the road from Kurunegala to Dambula had Bee-eater or Kingfisher of varying types every 100yds or so. And what I think sums Sri Lanka up was the sight of a White-throated Kingfisher sat on the head of the statue of Prime Minister D S Senanayake (I think) in the government district slap bang in the middle of the bustling capital city Colombo !
Our last stop was Bundala Reserve this time we were up at 4.30 and there for dawn, the list :-
Asian Paradise-flycatcher
Barn Swallow
Black-crowned Night Heron
Black-headed Munia
Black-tailed Godwit
Black-winged Stilt
Blue-tailed Bee-eater
Brahminy Kite
Brahminy Starling
Brown Shrike
Common Sandpiper
Cotton Pygmy Goose
Crested Hawk Eagle
Curlew
Garganey
Great Egret
Great Thick-knee
Greater Coucal
Greater Flamingo
Green Bee-eater
Greenshank
Grey Heron
Indian Darter
Indian Pond Heron
Indian Reef Heron
Indian Shag
Intermediate Heron
Lesser Sand Plover
Lesser Whistling Duck
Little Cormorant
Little Egret
Little Grebe
Little Ringed Plover
Orange-breasted Green Pigeon
Pacific Golden Plover
Pale-billed Flowerpecker
Pheasant-tailed Jacana
Pied Cuckoo
Pied Flycatcher Shrike
Pied Kingfisher
Purple Heron
Red Vented Bulbul
Redshank
Red-wattled Lapwing
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Rosey Starlin
Rufus-winged Bush Lark
Shikra
Spoonbill
Spot-billed Pelican
Spotted Dove
Stonecurlew
White Breasted Waterhen
White-throated Kingfisher
Yellow-billed Babler
Yellow-crowned Woodpecker
Yellow-wattled Lapwing

[indunil]

Sri Lanka History is incident full. Being an important trade port and oasis of Nature for sea farers of China, Arabia and Europe of the ancient times. Sri Lanka has a fascinating documented history over 2500 years of Civilization. The most valuable source of knowledge for the legends and historical heritage of Sri Lanka is the Mahavamsa,

Resent past history broadly analysis as follows,

Sri Lanka - Pre Historic Times

Yaksha and Naga Times

Thammanna Kingdom 543 BC - 505 BC

Upathissa Grama - 526 BC - 504

Panduwas Nuwara - 504 BC 474 BC

Anuradhapura Era 437 BC- 1017 AD

Polonnaruwa Era 1017 - 1215

Dambadeniya Era 1215 - 1272

Yapahuva Era 1272 - 1300

Kurunagala Era - 1293 - 1341

Gampola Era 1341- 1415

Kotte Era 1415 - 1514

Kandyan Era 1514 - 1815

Portugease Times 1505

Dutch Times 1796

British Rule 1815 - 1948


more reading

History of Sri Lanka - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Polonnaruwa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Polonnaruwa District - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yapahuwa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
yapahuwa - Google Images
Dambadeniya - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
History and Heritage- Kurunegala
Gampola - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kandy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
450 Years of Colonialism
Art Sri Lanka
sri lankan history - Google Images

[indunil]

Refer my previous post for more understanding
Ecological zones of Sri Lanka

[Neil Rigby]

Hi Indunil,

Interesting aside post.

I hadn't realised the Portugese had been involed in Sri Lanka for so long?

[indunil]

European ambitions arrived with the Portuguese during the early 16th century. The newcomers sought to establish a trading settlement in the growing port city of Colombo on the southwest coast. By then, the Sinhalese kingdom of Kotte had completely collapsed into petty partitions among three separate rulers.

The Portuguese were more interested in controlling the island's commerce than in absorbing its territory. In the process, they began to intrude in the affairs of the coastal regions. By the year 1600, after converting some of the Sinhalese royalty to Catholicism and breaking a strong bid for dominance by the rulers of the rebel state of Sitawaka, the Portuguese had effectively controlled the southwest coastal region and managed to snuff out the last Tamil kingdom ever to rule Jaffna as an independent state.

It was the attempt to bring the Kandyan kingdom under control that proved more troublesome, and eventually led to the demise of Portugal's power in ceilao, as they knew the country. Senarath (1604-1635) reestablished the kingdom of kandy following a short-lived conquest by Sitawaka. He entered into a treaty with the Portuguese in 1617 but relations began to sour after Portuguese incursions into the Kandyan ports of Batticalos and Trincomalee. Senarath's son, Rajasinha 2, conducted a vigorous campaign against Portugal, forming an alliance with the Dutch.

More reading

Ceylon and the Portuguese, 1505-1658 - Google Books

http://www.spur.asn.au/Portugese.htm

[indunil]

Finally defeat Portuguese which supported by Dutch, it’s Singhalese call buy pepper instant of chilly (invite lousy instant of bad), Dutch gradually tight controlled system against us than Portuguese.