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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Batrachostomus moniliger'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22689603A95214771 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22689603A95214771.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| image = SriLankaFrogmouths.jpg
| image_caption = A pair of ssp. ''roonwali'', with female on right
| image2 =Ceylon frogmouth.ogg
| image2_caption = Calls
| genus = Batrachostomus
| species = moniliger
| authority = [[Edward Blyth|Blyth]], 1849
}}
The '''Sri Lanka frogmouth''', '''Sri Lankan frogmouth''' or '''Ceylon frogmouth''' ('''''Batrachostomus moniliger''''') is a small [[frogmouth]] found in the [[Western Ghats]] of south [[India]] and [[Sri Lanka]]. Related to the [[nightjar]]s, it is nocturnal and is found in forest habitats. The [[plumage]] coloration resembles that of dried leaves and the bird roosts quietly on branches, making it difficult to see. Each has a favourite roost that it uses regularly unless disturbed. It has a distinctive call that is usually heard at dawn and dusk. The sexes differ slightly in plumage.

==Description==

This bird reaches {{convert|23|cm}} in length. Like all frogmouths, this species has a wide and hooked bill with slit-like nostrils and the large head with eyes facing forward to provide a wide field of [[binocular vision]]. Compared to others of its genus it has small wings, which are distinguished by the wing coverts ending in black spots tipped with white.<ref>{{cite book|author=Marshall, JT|year=1978|title=Systematics of smaller Asian night birds based on voice. Ornithological Monographs 25|publisher=American Ornithologists' Union|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/om/om025.pdf|page=28}}</ref> The male is gray-brown with fine barring and a spotted crown. Some males are browner and look more similar to females. The female is more rufous or chestnut brown. Indian female birds have very fine black speckles on the crown but Sri Lankan females may lack or may have reduced markings.<ref name=pcr>{{cite book|author1=Rasmussen PC |author2=Anderton, JC |name-list-style=amp |year=2005| title=Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Volume 2|pages=249–250|publisher=Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions|place=Washington DC & Barcelona}}</ref> The bird also has short, stiff bristles in front of and surrounding the eyes. The Western Ghats population, ssp. ''roonwali'' (named after [[Mithan Lal Roonwal]]), looks very slightly different. The male has a brownish-gray wing mirror and yellowish spots on the undersides, compared to gray or white in the nominate Sri Lankan form. The female has a bright reddish-brown wing mirror and the wings are unspotted below.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Dutta BB|year=2009|title=Studies of the Ceylone [sic] Frogmouth, ''Batrachostomus moniliger'' Blyth from India, with the description of a new sub-species from Western Ghats| journal= Rec. Zool. Survey India |volume=109 |issue=2|pages=79–85}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.do-g.de/fileadmin/do-g_dokumente/Vogelwarte_2-2011.pdf|vauthors=Martens J, Bahr N|year=2011|title= Documentation of new bird taxa, 5. Report for 2009|journal= Vogelwarte |volume=49|pages=85–104}}</ref>

==Habitat and distribution==
This species is found in the Western Ghats of southwest India and Sri Lanka. Its habitat is tropical forest, usually with dense undergrowth.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Sugathan, R |year=1981|title=A survey of the Ceylon Frogmouth (''Batrachostomus moniliger'') habitat in the Western Ghats of India|journal= J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. |volume=78|issue=2|pages=309–316|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48228835}}</ref> It can sometimes be found in more disturbed habitats, including [[plantation]]s.<ref>Kannan, R. (1993). Recent sightings of the Ceylon Frogmouth, ''Batrachostomus moniliger'', in India. Bulletin of the Oriental Bird Club 17, May 1993.</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=On the occurrence of the Ceylon frogmouth (''Batrachostomus moniliger'') in north Kanara, Karnataka|author=Borges, Renee of the Bombay Natural History Society|volume=83|issue=1|page=200|year=1986|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48761167}}</ref> Its presence may be overlooked due to its nocturnal behaviour and [[camouflage]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Ceylon Frogmouth ''Batrachostomus moniliger'' Blyth in the rainforests of the Western Ghats, Karnataka|author1=Kumara, H.N.|author2= Singh, M.|journal=J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.|year=2006|volume=103|issue=1|page=100}}</ref>

==Behaviour==

This frogmouth is rarely seen during the day except at roost sites or when flushed. It regularly uses the same roost spot for months.<ref name=kannan>{{cite journal|author=Kannan, R |year=1994|title=Notes on the status and ecology of the Ceylon Frogmouth (''Batrachostomus moniliger'' Blyth) from the Anaimalai Hills of Tamil Nadu|journal= J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.|volume= 91|issue=3|pages=454–455|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48378937}}</ref> When alarmed at its perch, it slowly moves its head, pointing its bill upward, and it can easily be mistaken for a jagged, broken branch. It relies on this crypsis and will often sit still a long time before making an escape.<ref name=nest/> It may open its mouth wide in a threat display.<ref name=kannan/> Like its congeners, it feeds on insects, catching them in flight or gleaning them from the ground or tree branches.<ref name=pcr/> It is sometimes mobbed at its day roost by small songbirds.<ref name=pcr/> It is vocal at dusk, the call of the female being a loud, screechy "shkeerauuw" which drops in volume and ends is a series of hiccups. Another call is a series of rapid "skwar-skwar-skwar" which is produced by both male and female.<ref name=pcr/>

The breeding season in southern India is January to April, and in Sri Lanka February to March. The nest is a small pad made of moss lined with [[Down feather|down]] and covered on the outside with [[lichen]]s and bark. The bird incubates a single white egg, covering the nest and holding the tail flush with the tree, taking on the outline of a lichen-covered snag. The male often broods during the day, while both parents share the duty during the night.<ref name=nest>{{cite journal|title=A Note on the Nesting of the Ceylon Frogmouth, ''Batrachostomus moniliger'' Blyth|doi= 10.1111/j.1474-919X.1947.tb04373.x|author=Phillips, W. W. A.|volume=89| issue=3| pages=515–516| year= 1947|journal=Ibis}}</ref><ref name=hbk>{{cite book|author1=Ali, S |author2=Ripley, S D |name-list-style=amp |title=Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 4|edition=2nd|pages=1–3|publisher=Oxford University Press|place=New Delhi|year=1983}}</ref> After the chick fledges, the male destroys the nest. The parents often use the same branch for multiple nestings.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Observations on a nest of Sri Lanka Frogmouth ''Batrachostomus moniliger''|last=Jayarathna|first=K D Thandula|year=2004|pages=129–130|journal=Forktail|volume=20|url=http://www.orientalbirdclub.org/publications/forktail/20pdfs/Jayarathna-Frogmouth.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328162642/http://www.orientalbirdclub.org/publications/forktail/20pdfs/Jayarathna-Frogmouth.pdf|archive-date=2012-03-28}}</ref> The juvenile may stay with the parents for a couple of months, huddling between them at the roost.<ref name=kannan/>

<gallery mode = packed heights = 200px>
Sri Lanka frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger moniliger) female on nest.jpg|''B. m. moniliger'' female on nest, Gal Oya, Sri Lanka
Srilankhan Frogmouth baby.JPG|''B. m. roonwali'' on a nest with a recently hatched chick
Ceylon Frogmouth by N.A. Naseer.jpg|''B. m. roonwali'' young bird (middle) with adult female to left and male to right
Sri Lanka frogmouth.jpg|''B. m. roonwali'' at [[Thattekad Bird Sanctuary]], India
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

* [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/sri-lanka-frogmouth-batrachostomus-moniliger Internet Bird Collection]
* [https://archive.today/20130416050928/http://www.xeno-canto.org/asia/XCspeciesprofiles.php?species_nr2=8749.00 Calls on Xeno-Canto]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1267780}}

[[Category:Batrachostomus|Sri Lanka frogmouth]]
[[Category:Birds of South India]]
[[Category:Birds of Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1849|Sri Lanka frogmouth]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Edward Blyth|Sri Lanka frogmouth]]

Sri Lanka frogmouth - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article