Sri Lanka Frogmouth
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| Sri Lankan Frogmouth | ||||||||||||||
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| Batrachostomus moniliger Blyth, 1849 |
The Sri Lanka Frogmouth, Batrachostomus moniliger, is a relatively small frogmouth. The frogmouths are a group of tropical nocturnal birds related to the nightjars.
This species is found only in southwest India and Sri Lanka. Its habitat is dense tropical forest. A single white egg is laid in the fork of a tree and incubated by the female at night and the male in the day.
The Sri Lanka Frogmouth is about 23cm long. It looks large-headed, and has a large flattened hooked bill and huge frog-like gape. The female is rufous, lightly spotted with white. The male is grey and more heavily spotted.
Like other frogmouths, this species rests horizontally on branches during the day, camouflaged by its cryptic plumage. At night, it hunts insects with its large gape. The flight is weak.
The Sri Lanka Frogmouth is best located at night by its song, which is a loud bubbling laugh.