Argh! You made me drop a perfectly good Rambutan!

Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot is annoyed with you

“Did you have to sneak up? You scared away my mate too. Myrnaaaaaaaa! You can come back, it’s just a silly photographer. It’s mating season from January to August you see, so we’ve just got together and picked out a nice hole in a tree. Myrna’s been quite busy building the nest with strips of leaves that she carries up to the hole by tucking them in her rump feathers. There she is on that tree. Looks exactly like me - red crown, rump and beak, orange tint on the nape and back, pale blue chin and throat - except that her colours are a little duller. Don’t bring that up with her, it’s a touchy subject.”

Fun Facts

“Life is good here, up in the trees. We never bother with anything on the ground. Everything we need is up here - nectar, pollen, juicy fruits - actually you should watch a flock of us feed when we get to a tree with fruits. It is quite the spectacle! Our favourite territories are in the Wet Zone areas because food is so abundant. The Hill Country and the Dry Zone areas are pretty great too, which is why you’ll find us almost everywhere in this country. Another reason why trees are great is that there’s plenty of cover to keep us safe. We’ve also picked up a cool trick from the Bats to help us be even safer... we go to sleep upside down!”

Story of the Photo

Dilum captured this image of the parrot enjoying a Rambutan feast on the borders of Sinharaja, whilst staying at Explorer by Eco Team in the Sinharaja Rain Forest.