Birds to See in Sri Lanka in May
47 species listed for May · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024
47 bird species on our list for Sri Lanka are recorded regularly in May. Of these, the most often recorded are Rose-ringed Parakeet, Rock Dove, Little Egret, Indian Peafowl and Great White Egret. New this month: Lesser Noddy and Sooty Shearwater.
New in May2
Leaving after last month20
Residents
(26)Recorded all year
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Psittacula krameriLC
Recorded all year
Rock Dove
Columba liviaLC
Recorded all year
Little Egret
Egretta garzettaLC
Recorded all year
Indian Peafowl
Pavo cristatusLC
Recorded all year
Great White Egret
Ardea albaLC
Recorded all year
Purple Heron
Ardea purpureaLC
Recorded all year
Scaly-breasted Munia
Lonchura punctulataLC
Recorded all year
Indian Robin
Copsychus fulicatusLC
Recorded all year
Grey Heron
Ardea cinereaLC
Recorded all year
Common Kingfisher
Alcedo atthisLC
Recorded all year
House Sparrow
Passer domesticusLC
Recorded all year
Black-crowned Night-heron
Nycticorax nycticoraxLC
Recorded all year
Orange-breasted Green-pigeon
Treron bicinctusLC
Recorded all year
Oriental Honey-buzzard
Pernis ptilorhynchusLC
Recorded all year
Little Tern
Sternula albifronsLC
Recorded all year
Little Grebe
Tachybaptus ruficollisLC
Recorded all year
Common Tern
Sterna hirundoLC
Recorded all year
Moorhen
Gallinula chloropusLC
Recorded all year
Eurasian Spoonbill
Platalea leucorodiaLC
Recorded all year
Great Cormorant
Phalacrocorax carboLC
Recorded all year
Black Eagle
Ictinaetus malaiensisLC
Recorded all year
Malabar Trogon
Harpactes fasciatusLC
Recorded all year
Hoopoe
Upupa epopsLC
Recorded all year
Coot
Fulica atraLC
Recorded all year
Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinusLC
Recorded all year
Alpine Swift
Tachymarptis melbaLC
Recorded all year
Summer visitors
(1)Arrives to breed; scarce or absent in winter
Winter visitors
(15)Present outside the breeding season
Redshank
Tringa totanusLC
Recorded all year
Gull-billed Tern
Gelochelidon niloticaLC
Regularly Jul–May
Kentish Plover
Charadrius alexandrinusLC
Recorded all year
Eurasian Collared Dove
Streptopelia decaoctoLC
Recorded all year
Little Ringed Plover
Thinornis dubiusLC
Recorded all year
Ruddy Turnstone
Arenaria interpresLC
Recorded all year
Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopusLC
Recorded all year
Grey Plover
Pluvialis squatarolaLC
Regularly Aug–May
White-winged Tern
Chlidonias leucopterusLC
Regularly Aug–May
Curlew Sandpiper
Calidris ferrugineaNT
Regularly Jul–May
Curlew
Numenius arquataNT
Recorded all year
Eurasian Oystercatcher
Haematopus ostralegusNT
Regularly Aug–Jun
Sanderling
Calidris albaLC
Regularly Aug–May
Bar-tailed Godwit
Limosa lapponicaNT
Regularly Aug–May
Greater Flamingo
Phoenicopterus roseusLC
Regularly Dec–May
Passage migrants
(5)Seen mainly in spring and autumn migration
Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made