Bird AlbumSri Lanka · Mannar District
Vankalai Bird Sanctuary
197 species and 8,251 records in eBird up to 2024-12-31.
Best months: December–February, with up to 119 species seen regularly.
Seen here in November
Great EgretArdea alba
Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopus
Little EgretEgretta garzetta
Grey HeronArdea cinerea
Marsh SandpiperTringa stagnatilis
Indian Pond HeronArdeola grayii
GarganeySpatula querquedula
Spotted DoveSpilopelia chinensis
Gull-billed TernGelochelidon nilotica
Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
Grey FrancolinOrtygornis pondicerianus
Lesser Whistling DuckDendrocygna javanica
Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollis
House CrowCorvus splendensSpecies seen regularly, by month
Species with 3 or more records in that month, all years combined.
Nearby hotspots
- Vankalai Marine Wildlife Sanctuary2 km162 species
- Mannar Island – Korakulam11 km163 species
- Olaiththoduvai Watching Point15 km164 species
- Mannar Island17 km202 species
- Urumalei31 km181 species
- Wilpattu National Park49 km211 species
All 197 species recorded here
- Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus
- Little Egret Egretta garzetta
- Common Redshank Tringa totanus
- Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus
- Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
- Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis
- Little Stint Calidris minuta
- Indian Pond Heron Ardeola grayii
- Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola
- Garganey Spatula querquedula
- Great Egret Ardea alba
- Kentish Plover Anarhynchus alexandrinus
- Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus
- Spotted Dove Spilopelia chinensis
- Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus
- Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida
- Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia
- Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica
- Brown-headed Gull Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus
- Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa
- Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto
- Little Cormorant Microcarbo niger
- Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia
- Northern Pintail Anas acuta
- Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva
- Little Ringed Plover Thinornis dubius
- Common Myna Acridotheres tristis
- Eastern Cattle Egret Ardea coromanda
- Blue-tailed Bee-eater Merops philippinus
- Paddyfield Pipit Anthus rufulus
- Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer
- Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia
- Grey Francolin Ortygornis pondicerianus
- Medium Egret Ardea intermedia
- Asian Palm Swift Cypsiurus balasiensis
- Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata
- Lesser Whistling Duck Dendrocygna javanica
- Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
- Little Tern Sternula albifrons
- Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
- Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
- House Crow Corvus splendens
- White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis
- Jacobin Cuckoo Clamator jacobinus
- Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus
- Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus
- Northern Shoveler Spatula clypeata
- Eurasian Wigeon Mareca penelope
- Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans
- Rock Dove Columba livia
- Indian Cormorant Phalacrocorax fuscicollis
- White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus
- Asian Green Bee-eater Merops orientalis
- Eurasian Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
- Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus
- Indian Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhyncha
- Indian Robin Copsychus fulicatus
- Yellow-wattled Lapwing Vanellus malabaricus
- Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri
- Plain Prinia Prinia inornata
- Ruff Calidris pugnax
- Purple Sunbird Cinnyris asiaticus
- Oriental Skylark Alauda gulgula
- Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos
- Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach
- Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus
- Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark Eremopterix griseus
- Purple Heron Ardea purpurea
- Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus
- Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster
- Common Hoopoe Upupa epops
- Black Kite Milvus migrans
- Blue-faced Malkoha Phaenicophaeus viridirostris
- Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis
- White-browed Bulbul Pycnonotus luteolus
- Great Stone-curlew Esacus recurvirostris
- Rosy Starling Pastor roseus
- House Sparrow Passer domesticus
- Sri Lanka Woodshrike Tephrodornis affinis
- Grey-headed Swamphen Porphyrio poliocephalus
- Oriental Magpie-Robin Copsychus saularis
- Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis
- Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius
- Yellow-billed Babbler Argya affinis
- Ashy Woodswallow Artamus fuscus
- Ashy Prinia Prinia socialis
- Jerdon's Bush Lark Plocealauda affinis
- White-winged Tern Chlidonias leucopterus
- Lesser Whitethroat Curruca curruca
- Tricolored Munia Lonchura malacca
- Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis
- Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus
- Blyth's Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum
- Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
- Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula
- Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
- Western Reef Heron Egretta gularis
- Striated Heron Butorides striata
- Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus
- Sri Lanka Swallow Cecropis hyperythra
- Temminck's Stint Calidris temminckii
- Common Iora Aegithina tiphia
- Pin-tailed Snipe Gallinago stenura
- Scaly-breasted Munia Lonchura punctulata
- Purple-rumped Sunbird Leptocoma zeylonica
- Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica
- Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus
- Eurasian Teal Anas crecca
- Shikra Tachyspiza badia
- Lesser Crested Tern Thalasseus bengalensis
- Indian Nightjar Caprimulgus asiaticus
- Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis
- Black-hooded Oriole Oriolus xanthornus
- Small Pratincole Glareola lactea
- Baya Weaver Ploceus philippinus
- Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis
- Crested Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhynchus
- Pheasant-tailed Jacana Hydrophasianus chirurgus
- Sanderling Calidris alba
- Indian Pitta Pitta brachyura
- Grey-headed Fish Eagle Icthyophaga ichthyaetus
- Coppersmith Barbet Psilopogon haemacephalus
- Greater Crested Tern Thalasseus bergii
- Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
- Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
- Long-toed Stint Calidris subminuta
- Yellow Bittern Botaurus sinensis
- Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta
- Loten's Sunbird Cinnyris lotenius
- Indian Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi
- Sri Lanka Junglefowl Gallus lafayettii
- Orange-breasted Green Pigeon Treron bicinctus
- Pallas's Gull Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus
- Cotton Pygmy Goose Nettapus coromandelianus
- Common Tern Sterna hirundo
- Eastern Barn Owl Tyto javanica
- Changeable Hawk-Eagle Nisaetus cirrhatus
- Brahminy Starling Sturnia pagodarum
- Little Swift Apus affinis
- Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus
- Crab-plover Dromas ardeola
- Brown-headed Barbet Psilopogon zeylanicus
- Indian Swiftlet Aerodramus unicolor
- Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus
- Indian Silverbill Euodice malabarica
- Indian Stone-curlew Burhinus indicus
- Richard's Pipit Anthus richardi
- Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus
- Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis
- Crested Serpent Eagle Spilornis cheela
- Clamorous Reed Warbler Acrocephalus stentoreus
- Green Imperial Pigeon Ducula aenea
- Pale-billed Flowerpecker Dicaeum erythrorhynchos
- Black-rumped Flameback Dinopium benghalense
- Jungle Prinia Prinia sylvatica
- Asian Woolly-necked Stork Ciconia episcopus
- Grey-bellied Cuckoo Cacomantis passerinus
- White-rumped Munia Lonchura striata
- Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus
- Black Bittern Botaurus flavicollis
- Jerdon's Nightjar Caprimulgus atripennis
- Indian Courser Cursorius coromandelicus
- Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus
- Eurasian Coot Fulica atra
- Knob-billed Duck Sarkidiornis melanotos
- Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
- Streaked Weaver Ploceus manyar
- White-bellied Drongo Dicrurus caerulescens
- Black Eagle Ictinaetus malaiensis
- Indian Scops Owl Otus bakkamoena
- Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea
- Crimson-fronted Barbet Psilopogon rubricapillus
- Pied Harrier Circus melanoleucos
- Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis
- Red-naped Ibis Pseudibis papillosa
- Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus
- Slaty-breasted Rail Lewinia striata
- Dunlin Calidris alpina
- Greater Painted-snipe Rostratula benghalensis
- Watercock Gallicrex cinerea
- Brown-breasted Flycatcher Muscicapa muttui
- Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii
- Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill Ocyceros gingalensis
- Black-naped Monarch Hypothymis azurea
- Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker Yungipicus nanus
- Sri Lanka Shama Copsychus leggei
- Alexandrine Parakeet Psittacula eupatria
- Cinnamon Bittern Botaurus cinnamomeus
- Stork-billed Kingfisher Pelargopsis capensis
- Thick-billed Flowerpecker Pachyglossa agilis
- Crimson-backed Flameback Chrysocolaptes stricklandi
- Jerdon's Leafbird Chloropsis jerdoni
- Osprey Pandion haliaetus
- Chestnut-headed Bee-eater Merops leschenaulti
- Malabar Pied Hornbill Anthracoceros coronatus
- Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica
- Oriental Pratincole Glareola maldivarum
Most recorded first. Species we protect from disturbance aren't listed.
Questions
When is the best time to go birding at Vankalai Bird Sanctuary?
December–February. That's when the most species are seen regularly here, up to 119 in a month.
How many bird species have been seen at Vankalai Bird Sanctuary?
197 species, from 8,251 eBird records up to 2024-12-31.
What birds can I see at Vankalai Bird Sanctuary in November?
The most recorded in November: Great Egret, Black-winged Stilt, Little Egret, Grey Heron and Marsh Sandpiper.
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.