Ceylon Spurfowl

Sri Lanka Spurfowl "Galloperdix bicalcarata" (Forster, 1781)

Shy and secretive, Sri Lanka spurfowl is more often heard than seen. Their cackling early morning choruses are striking and unmistakable. They are expert ventriloquists; what is more, the birds move while calling, making it even more difficult to track them down. They are essentially ground birds and the males tend to be territorial.

The birds are plump about the size of a half-grown domestic chicken and the males are darker- colored (almost black) and glossier than females, which are paler more brown than black. Les generally have a pair of spurs on each leg, while the females have a single, smaller spur on each leg.

Spurfos are” known to breed from around November until March-April and also during July-August. They build a small, well-concealed nest in a shallow excavation dug under a stone or bush, often lining it with a few dead leaves. Two uniformly whitish eggs (around 42×3 1 mm in size) are laid. Nestlings resemble adult females, but are somewhat paler, and have a brownish-red iris and a dusky red bill.