You can see me?
A Sri Lanka Frogmouth is surprised
“Oh right, it’s because I’m on this tiny branch. I was lost in thought when I wandered out here, I normally stick to dense undergrowth you see. You’re a photographer I see, nice to meet you, I’m Jaahn Seenaratne. Usually you can’t see me. My grey-brown body with fine barring is almost impossible to pick out against a tree trunk or leaf cover. My camouflage is so good that people think I’m a jagged tree branch when they look in my direction. The hooked bill helps with that when I sit sideways. The funny thing is, I can be found in one spot for months, but even if you knew which spot that was, you’d still have a hard time seeing me.”
Fun Facts
“Normally we wouldn’t be having this conversation during daylight. I’m a dusk-till-dawn kinda bird. Much more peaceful at that time to hunt for insects. Usually I just have to open my nice big mouth and they just go right in as I’m flying along. Other times I just drop down to a branch or the ground and grab them, they never expect it. Shkeerauuw! Oh, you heard that? That's my wife calling me to take my turn brooding on our egg. We only have one egg at a time since we tend to look after the baby for a couple of months and having more than one is too much to handle. Nice talking to you, bye!”
Story of the Photo
This usually-difficult-to-spot nocturnal bird was uncharacteristically out of cover, and awake, during daytime when Dilum captured this image. A stay at Explorer by Eco Team in the Sinharaja Rain Forest is a great way to spot elusive birds like these.
