Sri Lanka Nature Sounds Songbird of the Year 2024

Posted on May 7, 2024 by Deepal Warakagoda

Sri Lanka Nature Sounds Songbird of the Year 2024

Oriental Magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis) – the garden songbird in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Nature Sounds in conjunction with Drongo Nature Sounds Library has decided to present a songbird in Sri Lanka each year as ‘Songbird of the Year’.

For 2024 we present Oriental Magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis) as the Songbird of the Year.

(Photo by Namal Kamalgoda)

The background for this recognition is as follows. The founder of the two organizations above Deepal Warakagoda accompanied a bird photographer Frank Haugwitz on his photography tour of Sri Lanka in January. During their field explorations Frank suggested to Deepal naming a species as ‘Bird of the Year’ in Sri Lanka as done every year in his country Germany. One result hoped for is a special focus on it during that year by bird and nature observers.

Deepal then gave thought to the idea, and decided to name a ‘Songbird of the Year’ through his above two foundations, with his partiality to studying songbirds in Sri Lanka during the last few decades. The choice was also influenced by a discussion last year with his friend Rajith Dissanayake who was much impressed by the singing of magpie-robins in the Colombo area during a visit to Sri Lanka at the time.

In the early 1990s veteran birder Upali Ekanayaka, who was the leading expert on bird sound identification in Sri Lanka, drew Deepal’s attention to the Magpie-robin as the songbird most striking to him in the country, pointing out the extraordinary variability and musical quality in its songs. A few years later Prof. Valentine Basnayake, a well-known Western classical musician and educator in the country, commented to Deepal that the bird has clear notes that match those of Western musical scales. Deepal worked in a project to provide Prof. Basnayake with sounds of some of our bird species as educational material for Western music in the secondary school curriculum.

He recollects here with gratitude these three persons, and all the early writers who recognized the species to be one of the finest songbirds of Sri Lanka.

‘Songbird of the Year in Sri Lanka’ was first announced at the talk Deepal delivered on the topic ‘Bird Songs in Nature Soundscapes’ on 5th May 2024 (which was also International Dawn Chorus Day: please see the preceding blog post) at the exhibition National Wildlife Photography Awards, 2024, organized by the Department of Wildlife Conservation, Sri Lanka.

Audio albums: It is planned by Sri Lanka Nature Sounds to launch a few audio albums featuring some of the melodious songs of our Magpie-robin, from the recordings archived at the Drongo Nature Sounds Library, in due course. Below are a few samples of the recordings of the Magpie-robin’s songs heard in three different areas in the country.

at Gangodawila, off Nugegoda, a suburb of Colombo

at Seenuggala, Udawalawe National Park, in the Intermediate climatic zone of Sri Lanka

at Weddagala, off Kalawana, near the Sinharaja rainforest

Sri Lanka Nature Sounds & Drongo Nature Sounds Library 6th May 2024

International Dawn Chorus Day 2024

Posted on May 7, 2024 by Deepal Warakagoda

International Dawn Chorus Day, 5th May 2024

5th May is International Dawn Chorus Day. On this day people listen specially to, and often audio record, the sounds that many birds make together at dawn, in varied settings, across the world, with members of bird and nature societies sometimes gathering in groups to do so. The tradition is now nearly half a century old, having begun in Britain.

This year, a microphone rig setup in my garden in a suburban environment, here in Sri Lanka, captured the early morning chorus of garden birds in my neighbourhood. A part of the recording of the chorus can be heard below. A major participant in the chorus here these days is the Oriental Magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis). It sings its beautiful songs in many variations differing across days, weeks and months, during its breeding season.

A week before, the same bird (Oriental Magpie-robin), at the same location, in the morning:

Photo by Namal Kamalgoda

The Magpie-robin is one of the few prolific songbirds in Sri Lanka and is the only one found every home garden in the country. The singing ability of this bird is truly remarkable. Its songs, consisting either almost entirely of clear “musical” notes, or a mix of some of these with high squeaks, resound almost everywhere in the country during the time it is breeding. Every male tends to sing a different song to another male in the vicinity, these performances being territorial. Having closely studied the singing life of the Magpie-robin, and thereby knowing its abilities as a songbird, I thought it is well justified to name it the Songbird of the Year 2024, on this International Dawn Chorus Day: see the following blog post for more details on this subject, https://www.srilankanaturesounds.com/sri-lanka-nature-sounds-songbird-of-the-year-2024/

Deepal Warakagoda Sri Lanka Nature Sounds 6th May 2024

Dawn Chorus at Talangama wetlands

Posted on December 15, 2016 by Deepal Warakagoda

Dawn Chorus at Talangama wetlands

I missed participating in the International Dawn Chorus Day this year, which was on Sunday 1^st May (http://idcd.info/idcd/). While participating in the 2^nd Global Big Day (http://ebird.org/ebird/globalbigday) on 14^th May at the Talangama wetlands, together with a fellow birder Dr. Senaka Abeyratne, I thought experience the dawn chorus there as it was the place where I was on the IDCD last year. We reached the wetland just before dawn and began to count the bird species for the Global Big Day event. At the same time, while the dawn was disappearing I recorded calling of birds at the location. Sound track below features a part of the recording I made.

In the bird chorus above calls of the following birds can be heard in order of their appearance on the sound track: Red-vented Bulbul, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, White-browed Bulbul, Common Myna, Asian Koel, White-breasted Waterhen, Lesser Whistling Duck and Common Moorhean.

Link to eBird-Sri Lanka Global Big Day: https://www.facebook.com/people/EBird-SriLanka/100009564846715

International Dawn Chorus Day

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Deepal Warakagoda

International Dawn Chorus Day

Sunday 3^rd May is the International Dawn Chorus Day. The birds that utter their sounds in the early morning make the dawn chorus. This day is marked to enjoy this nature’s daily wonder and thereby understand importance of the natural world and its conservation.

On this day people can experience the dawn chorus either in their home garden or at another habitat nearby. Listening in the early morning you can learn what birds mix their sounds in to the dawn chorus this time of the year. Also, you can enjoy melody and pleasant nature of the sounds of these birds. We are in the tropics can experience the birds that breed in the area this time of the year would be the first to come to sing in the chorus. If you wish, you are welcome to share your experience of dawn chorus that you will hear on the day, in this blog by emailing your relevant notes, etc.

Enjoy the dawn chorus in your area on the Sunday 3^rd May.

Below is a part of recording of dawn chorus that I made at Nilgala forest a few years ago.

In this chorus the following birds are present (roughly in order of they appear along the sound track): Pale-billed Flowerpecker, Coppersmith Barbet (in background), Marshall’s Iora, Common Iora, Purple-rumped Sunbird, Black-capped Bulbul (in background), Black-headed Oriole, White-rumped Shama (in background), Grey-breasted Prinia, Black-headed Cuckooshrike, Cinereous (Grey/Great) Tit and Brown-headed Barbet (in background).

IDCD 1 – A wetland awakening, and home garden dawn chorus

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Deepal Warakagoda

A wetland awakening, and home garden dawn chorus

Today, International Dawn Chorus Day, I planned to visit a wetland to experience the dawn chorus there, while my daughter and wife agreed listen to the dawn chorus at our home garden. I reached Talangama tank by 5.10 am while it was still dark about 20min before to the dawn of the day. When I arrived there a male Oriental Magpie-Robin had already started to sing its beautiful songs from a tree along the tank bund. Soon an Asian Koel started to call and then a White-bellied Drongo began its repertoire, while shrub frogs vocalizing from plants in the area nearby. Those birds started to sing well before dawn as this is their breeding season.

Before the dawn waterbirds that vocalized was only a pair of White-breasted Waterhen while the magpie-robin was still singing its powerful and melodious song. It was also lightning and thundering that time.

Dawn was around 6.30am when other birds at the wetland began to fill the chorus with their sounds. White-breasted Kingfisher, White-breasted Waterhens and an egret were amongst others in the dawn chorus.

Soon after the dawn the chorus became significantly rich with bird sounds. More individuals of most of the birds mentioned earlier contributed to the dawn chorus. There was also a Purple Heron calling while it was leaving the night roost (heard between 33 sec. and 36 sec. in the sound track below).

At dawn egrets and herons were roosting at their regular night roost began to flying out while Asian Openbills and Black-headed Ibises were still remaining at the roost. Mainly the Black-crowned night Herons were heard while they were leaving the roost.

Common Kingfisher, a pair of Little Grebes and Red-wattled Lapwing heard at other places.

There were other birds, such as Greater Coucals, Green-imperial pigeons, Spotted Doves, White-browed Bulbuls, Red-vented Bulbuls, Common Mynahs, Black-headed Orioles, etc. from trees on bank of the tank or from surrounding home gardens participated in the morning bird chorus. Heavy rain began by 6.30 am following the lightning and thundering that continued from predawn.

As it expects from having an International Dawn Chorus Day it indicates profusely to the listeners the presence of a rich birdlife at wetlands and adjoining habitats in suburban areas, and also it signifies the importance of preserving these habitats.

Deepal Warakagoda, 3^rd May 2015

Dawn chorus at home garden

In the end of April my father told me that the International dawn chorus day is on 3^rd of May. He told that he is going to Talangama Tank to listen to the dawn chorus there on that day and asked whether my mother and me can do the same at our home garden. So, today my mother and me went in to the garden at 5.20 a.m. equipped with an audio recorder which my father set up for me yesterday. At first there was only insects and shrub frogs calling and it was still dark. Dawn was around 6.30 a.m. and the first one to call was the Asian Koel.

Then the other birds began to call, Red-vented Bulbul and Yellow-billed Babbler joined the koel.

The Oriental White-eye joined the chorus with singing its rather soft, undulating and melodious song. And the Red-vented Bulbul continued to sing with more of its different types of songs.

And there were two Red-vented Bulbuls singing from their own territories while the other birds continue their chorus. The finest songbird in our home gardens the Oriental Magpie-Robin participated only with a single ‘peee..’ note in the background.

As the dawn chorus continues more birds joined in. Such as Common Tailorbird, Purple-rumped Sunbird, Black-headed Oriole, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Greater Coucal, and the Rose-ringed Parakeet flew over.

Two Common Tailorbirds joined in the chorus with their very loud calls. The Brown-headed Barbet came in to the chorus with its fast, loud song while the parakeets flew over and thunder rumbled in the sky.

While I was recording my mother wrote down the birds which called. At about 6.20 a.m. we had to stop our listening session, because the rain started to pour down. The dawn chorus day is meant to listen and enjoy the chorus of birds in the morning, so actually my mother and me enjoyed it very much today. Also it was an opportunity to learn about the bird calls further.

Himesha Warakagoda, 3^rd May 2015