Sri Lanka Ramsar wetland
Madu Ganga
112 bird species recorded; the most from February to March.
SUPindia · CC BY-SA 4.0
This month here
51 species in January.75 species in February.79 species in March.63 species in April.43 species in May.25 species in June.43 species in July.29 species in August.54 species in September.58 species in October.52 species in November.45 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
NT
NT
NT
NT
NT
NT
NTNT
NTNT
- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
112 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 112Speciesrecorded more than once
- 32Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 1ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 2,180Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 7Raptors
- 8Waders
- 12Gulls & seabirds
- 1Ducks & geese
- 14Herons, ibises & grebes
- 1Storks & cranes
- 38Songbirds
- 31Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 112 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors7 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Brahminy KiteHaliastur indus
- White-bellied Sea-EagleHaliaeetus leucogaster
- Changeable Hawk-EagleNisaetus cirrhatus
- Grey-headed Fish EagleIcthyophaga ichthyaetusNT
- Crested Serpent EagleSpilornis cheela
- Crested Honey BuzzardPernis ptilorhynchus
- Black-winged KiteElanus caeruleus
Waders8 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Red-wattled LapwingVanellus indicus
- Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
- Pacific Golden PloverPluvialis fulva
- Wood SandpiperTringa glareola
- Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaVU
- Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
- Pheasant-tailed JacanaHydrophasianus chirurgus
Gulls & seabirds12 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Great Crested-TernThalasseus bergii
- Whiskered TernChlidonias hybrida
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Lesser Crested TernThalasseus bengalensis
- Little TernSternula albifrons
- White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterus
- Gull-billed TernGelochelidon nilotica
- Bridled TernOnychoprion anaethetus
- Lesser NoddyAnous tenuirostris
- Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
- Swinhoe's Storm PetrelOceanodroma monorhisNT
- Roseate TernSterna dougallii
Ducks & geese1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Lesser Whistling DuckDendrocygna javanica
Herons, ibises & grebes14 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Little CormorantMicrocarbo niger
- Indian CormorantPhalacrocorax fuscicollis
- Indian Pond-HeronArdeola grayii
- Little EgretEgretta garzetta
- Striated HeronButorides striata
- Great White EgretArdea alba
- Purple heronArdea purpurea
- Egretta intermediaEgretta intermedia
- Black-necked IbisThreskiornis melanocephalus
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
- Oriental DarterAnhinga melanogaster
- Black-crowned Night-HeronNycticorax nycticorax
- Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
- Western Reef HeronEgretta gularis
Storks & cranes1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Asian Open-bill StorkAnastomus oscitans
Songbirds38 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Red-vented BulbulPycnonotus cafer
- Yellow-billed BabblerTurdoides affinis
- Common MynaAcridotheres tristis
- House CrowCorvus splendens
- Black-hooded OrioleOriolus xanthornus
- White-bellied DrongoDicrurus caerulescens
- Purple-rumped SunbirdLeptocoma zeylonica
- Oriental Magpie-robinCopsychus saularis
- Common TailorbirdOrthotomus sutorius
- Loten's SunbirdCinnyris lotenius
- Pale-billed FlowerpeckerDicaeum erythrorhynchos
- White-browed BulbulPycnonotus luteolus
- Large-billed CrowCorvus macrorhynchos
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- Indian Paradise FlycatcherTerpsiphone paradisi
- Spice FinchLonchura punctulata
- Common IoraAegithina tiphia
- Small MinivetPericrocotus cinnamomeus
- Sri Lanka SwallowCecropis hyperythra
- Indian RobinSaxicoloides fulicatus
- White-browed FantailRhipidura aureola
- Purple SunbirdCinnyris asiaticus
- Brown ShrikeLanius cristatus
- White-rumped MuniaLonchura striata
- Indian White-eyeZosterops palpebrosus
- Brown-breasted FlycatcherMuscicapa muttui
- Black-naped MonarchHypothymis azurea
- Muscicapa latirostrisMuscicapa latirostris
- Golden-fronted LeafbirdChloropsis aurifrons
- Orange MinivetPericrocotus flammeus
- Tickell's Blue FlycatcherCyornis tickelliae
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Jerdon's LeafbirdChloropsis jerdoni
- Sri Lanka DrongoDicrurus lophorinus
- Plain PriniaPrinia inornata
- Black-headed MuniaLonchura malacca
- Ashy Wood SwallowArtamus fuscus
- Emberiza buchananiEmberiza buchanani
Other birds31 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- White-breasted KingfisherHalcyon smyrnensis
- Eastern Spotted DoveSpilopelia chinensis
- Rose-ringed ParakeetPsittacula krameri
- Brown-headed BarbetPsilopogon zeylanicus
- Green Imperial-PigeonDucula aeneaNT
- Common KoelEudynamys scolopaceus
- Blue-tailed Bee-eaterMerops philippinus
- Common KingfisherAlcedo atthis
- Lesser Crimson-backed FlamebackDinopium psarodes
- Greater CoucalCentropus sinensis
- White-breasted WaterhenAmaurornis phoenicurus
- Asian Palm-swiftCypsiurus balasiensis
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- Sri Lanka BarbetPsilopogon rubricapillus
- Pompadour Green PigeonTreron pompadora
- Coppersmith BarbetPsilopogon haemacephalus
- Asian Green Bee-eaterMerops orientalis
- Stork-billed KingfisherPelargopsis capensis
- Indian SwiftletAerodramus unicolor
- Chestnut-headed Bee-eaterMerops leschenaulti
- Little SwiftApus affinis
- Indian PeafowlPavo cristatus
- Orange-breasted Green-pigeonTreron bicinctus
- Common Emerald DoveChalcophaps indica
- Sri Lanka junglefowlGallus lafayettii
- Alpine SwiftTachymarptis melba
- Pied KingfisherCeryle rudis
- Ceylon Grey-HornbillOcyceros gingalensis
- Crested TreeswiftHemiprocne coronata
- Ceylon Hanging-ParrotLoriculus beryllinus
- Alexandrine ParakeetPsittacula eupatria
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species from February to March.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan29°/23°89 mm
- Feb29°/24°85 mm
- Mar30°/25°128 mm
- Apr29°/26°238 mm
- May29°/26°244 mm
- Jun28°/26°155 mm
- Jul28°/25°114 mm
- Aug28°/25°135 mm
- Sep28°/25°187 mm
- Oct28°/25°302 mm
- Nov28°/25°332 mm
- Dec28°/24°193 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Madu Ganga.
River in Sri Lanka
Madu Ganga is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Sri Lanka.
112 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 2,180 open records.
The most recorded are the Brahminy Kite, the Red-vented Bulbul and the White-breasted Kingfisher.
11 species come for the summer, 17 for the winter and 4 only pass through.
1 are threatened worldwide, including Curlew Sandpiper.
The most species are recorded from February to March.
Get there and watch
- Gangabada Asiriyaplace to stay · 0.5 km · 64 within 10 km
- Ambalangodanearest town · 4.7 km in a straight line
- Koggala Airport (KCT)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 44 km in a straight lineCar hire at CMB airport (Colombo)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 1viewpoints within 5 km
- 1car parks within 3 km
- 16restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- 64places to stay within 10 kmGangabada Asiriya, Ravi Beach Resort, Ice Age Hotel and 61 more
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- campsites within 10 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Madu Ganga.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas28 mountains within 25 kmPelagaskanda · 8.5 kmGalgoda · 8.8 kmKadrigalkanda · 13 kmGalboda Dagaba · 13 kmAtagala · 16 kmAkuratikanda · 20 kmAmuneriyagoda · 21 kmBolkan Kanda · 25 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The place, as people saw it.
Other places nearby.
Madu Ganga
Sri Lanka
- 49Birdyas Score
- 112Species
- 32Migrants
- 1Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q6728765) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 2,180 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Islandyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
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lakes
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Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
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Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit 
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Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit 
caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit 
dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit 
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.You are here
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit