Uncommon Birds in Sri Lanka
Our list for Sri Lanka has 51 uncommon birds recorded regularly there: 14 residents, 34 winter visitors and 3 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Sri Lanka in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 51, most common first
Gull-billed TernGelochelidon niloticaWinter visitorUncommon33–42 cmRegularly Jul–May
Pacific Golden-PloverPluvialis fulvaWinter visitorUncommon23–26 cmRegularly Aug–Apr
Eurasian SpoonbillPlatalea leucorodiaResidentUncommon80–90 cmRecorded all year
Little StintCalidris minutaWinter visitorUncommon13–15 cmRegularly Aug–Apr
Little Ringed PloverThinornis dubiusWinter visitorUncommon14–17 cmRecorded all year
Little TernSternula albifronsResidentUncommon21–25 cmRecorded all year
Orange-breasted Green-pigeonTreron bicinctusResidentUncommon25–30 cmRecorded all year
Black-tailed GodwitLimosa limosaWinter visitorUncommon40–44 cmRegularly Jul–Apr
Grey WagtailMotacilla cinereaWinter visitorUncommon17–20 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Oriental Honey-buzzardPernis ptilorhynchusResidentUncommon52–68 cmRecorded all year
Kentish PloverCharadrius alexandrinusWinter visitorUncommon15–17 cmRecorded all year
GreenshankTringa nebulariaWinter visitorUncommon30–35 cmRegularly Jul–Apr
Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollisResidentUncommon23–29 cmRecorded all year
Black-crowned Night-heronNycticorax nycticoraxResidentUncommon58–65 cmRecorded all year
MoorhenGallinula chloropusResidentUncommon30–38 cmRecorded all year
Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaWinter visitorUncommon18–23 cmRegularly Jul–May
Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaoctoWinter visitorUncommon30–32 cmRecorded all year
Common TernSterna hirundoResidentUncommon31–35 cmRecorded all year
GarganeySpatula querquedulaWinter visitorUncommon37–41 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellusWinter visitorUncommon48–66 cmRegularly Jun–Apr
WhimbrelNumenius phaeopusWinter visitorUncommon40–46 cmRecorded all year
Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carboResidentUncommon80–100 cmRecorded all year
White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterusWinter visitorUncommon20–27 cmRegularly Aug–May
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