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The lowland
rainforest of Sinharaja is the largest
expanse of lowland rainforest in Sri Lanka.
It was declared a World Heritage Site in
1988. It is one of the critically important
sites for a vast number of endemic fauna and
flora, which are threatened due to
deforestation. In this tour we aim to see
close to 16 of the 27 endemic birds of Sri
Lanka, which include Red-faced Malkoha and
Sri Lanka Blue Magpie.
The focus will
also be on the mixed species bird flocks,
which is a unique foraging strategy adopted
primarily by insectivorous birds in the
rainforest. Close to 12 species on average
move through the densely vegetated forest,
flushing out insects in the process, which
are eaten by the birds occupying in various
stratified layers in the forest. You will be
able to see the flock leader Orange-billed
Babbler, which is the steering wheel of the
bird flock and Crested Drongo, which acts as
the policeman of the flock safeguarding the
flock from of Hawks & Eagles by uttering
Alarm calls.
In addition,
for awesome birding, the tour also focuses
on the vast diversity of flora, which
include 45-meter towering canopy giants such
as Thiniya Dun, Weli-piyanna & Beraliya.
Nearly 60 % of the flowering plants in
Sinharaja is found only in Sri Lanka. We
will also focus on the largely ignored
nocturnal fauna of the rainforests & micro
fauna such as Butterflies. Lunch is at
Martin's Simple Lodge, which is the most
popular base of eco tourists at Sinharaja.
It offers spectacular views of the virgin
jungle |