Sinharaja mixed-species bird flocks: Orange-billed Babbler and Racket-tailed Drongo foraging waves?
How do nuclear bird species like the Orange-billed Babbler and Greater Racket-tailed Drongo coordinate massive mixed foraging waves through the Sinharaja rainforest understory?
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3 Answers from travellers
The primary lowland rainforest of Sinharaja is globally famous for hosting the world's largest and most complex mixed-species bird foraging flocks (bird waves). Up to 40 individual birds across 12 to 18 species move through the forest together. The flock is anchored by "nuclear" leader species: the endemic Orange-billed Babbler (Argya rufescens) scours the leaf litter and understory, flushing out insects, while the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus lophorinus) perches in the sub-canopy, catching escaping insects and serving as the primary flock sentry with loud vocal predator alarms.
Attendant species joining the wave include the rare endemic Red-faced Malkoha, Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, Ashy-headed Laughingthrush, and Malabar Trogon.
Bird waves move along established territorial circuits through the forest at roughly 1 km/h; stand still on the trail when an active wave approaches overhead.
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