Sri Lanka Spurfowl - BirdForum Opus

Alternative name: Ceylon Spurfowl

Male
Photo by Dave 2x
Sinharaja, Sri Lanka, March 2015

Galloperdix bicalcarata

Identification

37 cm

• Brown upperparts, wings and tail
• Red facial skin patch
• Whitish throat
• Red legs
  

Male

• Scaly black and white underparts and head
• Extensive white spotting on the brown wings and upperback
• Legs have two long spurs
  

Female
Photo by firecrest15 and Dave Thrussell
Sinharaja Forest Reserve, south-western Sri Lanka, March 2010

Female: chestnut underparts and a plain brown back and wings.

Distribution

Asia: endemic to southern Sri Lanka.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

Habitat

Rainforest dense interior.

Behaviour

Breeding

It is a ground nesting bird, which lays 2-5 eggs in a scrape.

Diet

It is terrestrial, scratching amongst the leaf litter of the forest floor for various seeds, fallen fruit and insects.

Vocalisation

Song: Very loud, long and explosive. The male is answered by the female in the middle of its operatic delivery which excites him to even greater sonic heights.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Wikipedia
3. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Sri Lanka Spurfowl. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 6 October 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Sri_Lanka_Spurfowl

External Links

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