Sexy Girls

Andmemic Birds

Maha Rathu Karala - Crimson - Backed Flamback (Chrysocolaptes stricklandi)

 

 

 

Identification

 

This Flamback is about 11.5 ; tail 3.5 ; wing 5.9 ; tarsus 1.1; bill from gape 1.9. Back, scapulars, and outer surface of wings, except primary-coverts and outer webs of primaries, dull crimson, edges of feathers brighter, rump also brighter. In all other respects this species resembles C. gutticristatus except that there is everywhere more black and less white, there are only white spots on the back of the neck, and the sides of the head above the malar region and of the neck are almost all black, the superciliary stripe being represented by a row of white spots. The black borders of the breast-feathers are very broad. Sexual distinctions as in C. gutticristatus.Bill brownish or olivaceous at the base, greenish white in the middle, the tip dusky; iris yellowish white; legs and feet greenish' slate.

 

Behavior

 

This species haunting a nest-hole high up a large tree in January in such a manner as to indicate that they had young.

 

Location

 

This Woodpecker is found in forests almost throughout the island, on both hills and lowlands.

CHOGAM Starts

 Mahinda Rajapaksha Speach

With some countries like Britain and Canada seeking to bring human rights violations in the Sri Lankan war against LTTE under the scanner during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) summit, President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday asked member nations not to turn the Commonwealth into a “punitive and judgemental” body and desist from introducing bilateral agendas.

Welcoming heads of government and foreign ministers to the 22nd CHOGM summit, Mr. Rajapaksa made yet another combative speech on his country’s success in the battle against “30 years of terror” and return of “peace” in the island and appealed for a constructive engagement in the Commonwealth on issues like economic growth and eradication of poverty.

“Make the Commonwealth a truly unique organisation for engaging in collaborative unity rather than indulging in prescriptive and divisive ways,” he said in his opening remarks to the summit of the 53-member grouping.

India is represented by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called off his plans in the wake of stiff opposition from political parties in Tamil Nadu.

Mr. Khurshid and British Prime Minister David Cameron, who has planned a visit to the Northern Jaffna province and has some tough questions on human rights issues to put to Rajapaksa, were present on the dais to hear him at the opening ceremony.

Deepak Obhrai, Parliamentary Secretary and representative of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Arun Bullel, Foreign Minister of Mauritius were also present.

Both Mr. Harper and Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Chandra Ramgoolam, who will be hosting the next summit in his country, decided to boycott the summit citing the poor human rights record of Sri Lanka.

War Crims In Srilanka

Britains PM says ‘I am not happy with what they’ve done following the conflict and we’ll have some very frank conversations’. He says he is coming to Sri Lanka to visit the North for himself. That is good news.

Sri Lankan authorities need to show him what the North looked like under LTTE rule and he can then see ‘what we’ve done’ in just 4 years. Sri Lanka’s authorities should not forget or think it not ‘civilized’ not to show him all the photos of the crimes LTTE has committed to see if the British Premiers reaction would be similar to how he reacted after watching Channel 4 and then ask him why Sri Lanka should ONLY conduct investigations into the final phase of the war when LTTE killed thousands of civilians and left a similar number injured? Do their tragedy not matter, are these civilians not worthy of human rights privileges too or is it only for Tamil civilians because foreign parliamentarians who come to point fingers do so because when they go back home they need to count votes! Lets be candid. Britain does not have ANY moral, ethical right to be preaching. Its colonial crimes have been no better than the crimes it orders its troops to commit in the contemporary scene. These state orders are what we now would like to highlight and not individual and isolated cases of soldier misbehavior.

Now that Cameron has said he was coming to  "shine a spotlight" on human rights concerns in Sri Lanka, we like to bring to the attention of the world the human rights violations of UK that continue from ancient times to even contemporary with UK joining the US in openly supplying, training and funded rebel movements. What they did in the past clandestinely these Governments are now doing openly. On what moral grounds do we waste time listening to such countries speak on human rights when they are violating it by creating groups to start chaos and mayhem in countries so that they can use this as an excuse to militarily invade nations and then take over their natural resources.

Britain joined US and NATO to eliminate a dictator in Iraq – how many Iraqi’s did the British soldiers bring to safety? Sri Lanka’s soldiers saved close to 300,000 Tamil ‘civilians’(inverted commas because they were part-time combatants – voluntarily or forced BUT the armed forces treated them as civilians)

 · Did Lord Goldsmith, the former attorney general not declare that the Iraq was illegal but had to drop his advice because of intense pressures from Tony Blair – Sri Lanka did not carry out any illegal invasion or occupation. Sri Lanka’s armed forces and the country’s President was well within their legal right to declare a Just War on LTTE terrorists after courting them for countless foreign initiated peace talks and ceasefires.

· Did Lord Bingham one of the most respected legal luminaries in the UK not declare that British occupation had been, “sullied by a number of incidents, most notably the shameful beating to death of Mr. Baha Mousa [a hotel receptionist]”. He goes on to say that “If I am right that the invasion of Iraq by the US, the UK, and some other states was unauthorised by the [United Nations] Security Council there was, of course, a serious violation of international law and the rule of law.’ “For the effect of acting unilaterally was to undermine the foundation on which the post-1945 consensus had been constructed: the prohibition of force (save in self-defence, or perhaps, to avert an impending humanitarian catastrophe) unless formally authorised by the nations of the world empowered to make collective decisions in the Security Council.”

·  Why did UK and Allies need to use over 320-tons of uranium bombs in Iraq since 1991 to get rid of just ONE man?

·  Does the Iraq War Logs not reveal that most of the acts of torture and murder were committed in the open  

·  How about the High Court appeal case brought by Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) in response to the British government’s decision not to order a single public inquiry into the hundreds of cases in which Iraqi civilians have alleged abuse and mistreatment.

·  UK inspite of signing the Convention Against Torture (1987) and the Human Rights Act has not changed the UK practice of hooding, stress positions, subjection to noise, sleep deprivation, food and drink deprivation techniques still used even in 2003 as revealed at the Baha Mousa Inquiry. Sir William Gage’s report, published on 8 September, on the Baha Mousa Inquiry said ‘there was widespread ignorance of what was permitted in handling prisoners of war’. 

· Is it not true that Ministry of Defence was forced to announce that another public inquiry is to take place into allegations that 19-year-old Hamid Al-Sweady, and up to 19 other Iraqis, was unlawfully killed at Camp Abu Naji, a British base in May 2004. There is evidence that some victims were mutilated before they died. Martyn Day, a lawyer involved in the case, stated that soldiers and officers may have covered up what was “one of the most atrocious episodes in British army history”.

· Ministry of Defence has initiated its own Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) investigation. IHAT, which was first concocted by the previous Labour government as claims of systematic abuse by British soldiers mounted,

 

David Cameron also professes to have viewed the controversial documentary by Channel 4 directed by Callum MacCrae the new spokesman for the LTTE. Having watched it he says it is  "one of the most chilling documentaries" he had watched. This sounds no different to our former President referred to by most as the bandit queen now planning to come as the common candidate for the next election, who also makes guest appearance on the film claiming that her son cried and said he was ashamed to be a Sinhalese. We wonder why he did not cry when villages were razed to the ground by the LTTE, pregnant mothers killed, women and children hacked to death while sleeping by the LTTE, student Buddhist monks killed one after another after waylaying their bus, or children killed in a mosque while praying or maybe he has also forgotten that his own mother lost an eye after LTTE tried to assassinate her.

These crocodile tears are good for  the likes of all those now enjoying LTTE funds to do as they say or those who speak as they do because they are counting votes that would bring them to Parliament no different to why Manmohan chickened out of coming to CHOGM highlighting how celluloid Tamil Nadu has now taken Eelam from Sri Lanka to India with Nedumaran putting up a statute of Prabakaran and his son and Indian authorities simply doing nothing about it because India is run by a widow who according to Dr. Subramaniam Swamy smuggled Indian artifacts out of India using the LTTE, and LTTE assassinated her own husband. 

SINHARAJA RAINFOREST

SINHARAJA RAINFOREST is a world heritage site and major eco tourism destination, which can also be described as a Tropical Lowland Rainforest or Tropical Wet Evergreen Forest . Whatever its 'technical' name, it is undoubtedly a rich treasure trove of nature with a great diversity of habitats and a vast repository of Sri Lanka's endemic species found no where else in the world. BIRD WATCHING in this ecosystem is particularly interesting because it is home to 95% of the endemic birds of Sri Lanka ! Named as a world heritage site in 1989, this lowland evergreen rain forest is steeped in deep legend and mystery. The word 'Sinharaja' means, Lion (Sinha) King (Raja), and it is popular belief that the legendary origin of the Sinhala people is from the union between a princess and the lion king who once lived in the forest!

 

Sinharaja valued at Rs. 18 billion per annum

The first ever value survey on the Sinharaja forest, based on international valuation, has placed it at an annual price tag of USD 188.47 million or Rs.18.84 billion. Sinharaja which was designated a World Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and a World Heritage Site in 1998 has been given this price considering its value at key ecosystem services by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. The Services include re-creation capacity, non-timber forest product and genetic resources, among other benchmarks. The bulk of the land area in Sinharaja was declared a forest reserve in 1875 under the Waste Lands Ordinance and today it remains the last primary lowland tropical rain forest in the country. Meanwhile a similar study on ecosystem services of Mangrove Ecosystems of the country has attached a total value of USD 57.8 to them. The Ministry which has so far worked out the calculations only for these two ecosystems maintains that non-availability of data has restricted it from carrying out similar studies on other ecosystems here.

 

"Week Without Walls (WWW)  - OSC & Eco Team

This year [2008] signaled a grand return to past OSC tradition; from the January 15 to 18 , the Overseas School of Colombo re-established its "Week Without Walls (WWW)" programme. Designed for the secondary school, WWW is an "out of classroom" experience for students that is designed to enrich them with a better knowledge of their host country and its environment. WWW an effort to develop and enhance greater social and cultural awareness. WWW emphasizes holistic learning, intercultural awareness and communication. It helps students to bond with their peer groups in environments outside of school. At the Overseas School of Colombo, WWW this year was an exciting time for all students participating. Eco Team was the obvious choice by the OSC and their appointed travel coordinator - United Holidays, to be the service provider for 2 wilderness camps in Singharaja Rain Forest and Hatton. Singharaja camp was coupled with a rainforest exploration  programme conducted by Eco Team's expert naturalists whilst the Hatton Camp coupled with an Adam's Peak expedition backed by Eco team Trekkers & Guides.

 

Nominate Sinharaja Forest to be among new 7 Wonders of Nature.
	Now we have an opportunity to nominate Sinhar­aja Rain Forest to be included among the "New 7 Wonders of Nature". Voting for nominees will continue until 31.12.08. The New 7 Wonders Panel of Experts will then select 21 finalists, from which voters worldwide will elect the New Seven Wonders of Na­ture. Please note that you need to mark vote 1 for Singharaja and 6 more for any other nominations. It's not possible to mark all 6 votes to 1 nominee or skip those 6 preferential votes.

 

  History:

The forest steeped in deep legend and mystery. The word Sinharaja means, lion (sinha) king (raja) and the popular belief is that the legendary origin of the Sinhala people in Sri Lanka is from the descendants of the union the lion king who once lived in the forest and a princess. Sinharaja Forest Reserve is one of the least disturbed and biologically unique lowland rain forests now remaining in Sri Lanka.

This forest covers an extent of approximately 11187 ha. From east to west the length of the forest is about 21 km. And its width from north to south is about 3.7 km. The Sinharaja forest was initially declared a Man and Biosphere Reserve (MAB) in 1978, as representative of Tropical Humid Evergreen Forest ecosystem in Sri Lanka and has been recognized by UNESCO as part of its International Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Subsequently it was declared a National Wilderness Area, under the National Heritage Wilderness Area Act, in 1988 and lately a World Heritage Site in 1989.It is the Sri Lanka 's first natural resource to earn this esteemed distinction. This forest is situated in the southwest lowland Wet Zone of the country at latitudes 6 21- 6 26 and longitudes 80 21- 80-34.It spans over the administrative districts of Ratnapura, Galle and Matara.

Sinharaja forest consists of a series of continuous ridges, aligned approximately in an east-west direction and lies between the tributaries of the Kalu Ganga in the north and the Gin Ganga in the south.

There are four main routes of access to Sinharaja. The Kalawana- Weddagala road from the northwest, The Rakwana-Morning side estate road from the northeast, the Hiniduma-Neluwa road from the southwest and Deniyaya-Pallegama road from the southeast. Among these roads the Kalawana-Weddagala road is shorter and more convenient for visitors traveling from Colombo .

  Topography:

The elevation of the Sinharaja reserve ranges from 200m to 1300m. It has a rolling terrain consisting of a series of ridges and valleys, which assumes an east-west trend in the northwestern part of the reserve. In other parts of the reserve, the ridges and valleys assume a north-west/south-east alignment. The peak of Hinipitigala is the tallest, rising up to about 1150m.Other important ridges in the reserve ranges between 550-800m in height NamelyMoulawella (760m), Kosgulana (797m), Sinharaja (742m), Kohilearambe (575m), Dotalugala (769m), and Tibbottagala (904m).

 Geology and Soils:

The Sinharaja Reserve lies within the transition zone of two important groups of rock types, the south/western group which consist of metasediments-charnokites and scapolites bering calc granulites and the highland group comprising khondalites of metamorphosed sediments and Charnockites. The most significant geological feature of Sinharaja is the presence of a "Sinharaja Basic Zone" which comprises hornblend pyriclasts, basic charnokites pyroxene amphibolites and scapolite.

The soils of Sinharaja largely belong to the group of Red Yellow Podzolic soils, with clearly distinguishable horizons of varying soil depths. The soil is well drained with very little accumulation of organic matter.

  Plant Life:

The vegetation of Sinharaja may be described either as a Tropical Lowland Rain Forest or Tropical Wet Evergreen Forest. Some striking characteristics of the forest are the loftiness of the dominant trees, the straightness of their bole, the abundance of regeneration and the diversity of species.

The average height of the trees varies between 35m -40m. Some individuals rise even upto 50m.

Contrary to popular belief scrub growth does occur on rock shelves or gaps on the canopy created by falling of over-mature trees. The great diversity of species of Sinharaja forest makes it difficult to distinguish ecological patterns. However, some tree associations have been recognized and these are the Dipterocarpus (Hora-Bu Hora) an association confined to the lower elevations along the Gin Ganga valley and the Mesua-Doona (Shorea) association forms the matrix of the Sinharaja forest.

The vegetation of Sinharaja is that of humid wet evergreen forest type with a high degree of endemism. In fact some families such as Dipterocarpaceae show an endemism more than 90%. The untapped genetic potential of Sinharaja flora is enormous. Out of the 211 woody trees and lianas so far identified within the reserve 139(66%) are endemic. Similarly, high levels of endemism are perhaps true for the lower plants like ferns, Epiphyts as well. Out of 25 general endemic to Sri Lanka 13 are represented in Sinharaja.

The total vegetation density, including trees, shrubs, herbs and seedlings has been estimated to be around 240,000 individuals per hectare, of which 95% comprise individuals of the ground layer below 1m in height. The density of trees, lianas above 30cm girth at breast height, ranges between 600-700 individuals/ha. While the number of merchantable individuals of trees of girth greater than 150cm. Ranges between 45-55 individuals/ha.

 

  Animal Life:

Preliminary studies on the fauna of Sinharaja have revealed that there is a high degree of endemism among the butterflies, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. In fact 95%of the endemic birds of Sri Lanka are recorded in Sinharaja. Endemism among mammals and butterflies are also greater than 50%.

Out of the larger mammals, although elephants were said to be common in the past, there have not been reports of sightings during the last 15 years. However, there have been reports of sightings of a few animals in the Eastern Sector. The most common deer species is the Sambhur.The Mouse Deer and Barking deer are also found within the reserve. Leopards are very seldom sighted, but their frequent presence has been confirmed by tracks and other signs. Brown Mongoose and the Golden Palm Civet have been occasionally sighted. The most commonly seen primate is the Purple faced Leaf Monkey.

Out of the birds recorded in the Western sector of the reserve, 72% were resident non- endemic and 13% migrants. One of the most interesting and colorful spectacles to be found in the Sinharaja is the presence of mixed species of foraging bird flocks, a phenomenon commonly found in rain forests. A total of 100 such flocks were systematically observed, and studies have revealed that some flocks contained 48 species including 12 endemic species. The rare endemic birds to be seen in Sinharaja are the Red-faced Malkoha, the Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, the Ashy - headed Babbler, the White- Headed Starling and the Green-billed Coucal the rarest of Sri Lankan birds.

The agamids are the best-represented group of reptiles, the most common being the Green Garden Lizard of special significance are the sightings of Calotes liolepis an arboreal species, the rarest of all agamids found in the island. The only tortoise recorded in the reserve is the hard- shelled Terrapin, while of the species of skinks, the spotted skink can be seen often. Among the snakes the Green Pit Viper and Hump- nosed Viper are commonly found in this forest and are endemic to Sri Lanka .

The amphibians are fairly well represented in the reserve and nine endemic species have been identified. The endemic Torrent toad and the common house toad. In most streams and marshes, the Wrinkled frog and the Sri Lanka Reed frog also found in Sinharaja. Ramanella palmate a rare endemic species is the only microhylid recorded so far while the yellow- banded Caecilian is the only apodan recorded.

 

  It's People:

Sinharaja is surrounded by 22 villages with a population of approximately 5000 people. Only two villages, Warukandeniya and Kolonthotuwa are located within the reserve. The long history of human habitation in and around today's reserve, in fact compounds the problem of managing and conserving the forest. Most of the ancient harmless are found along the southern boundary of the reserve on the bank of Gin Ganga with a few located on the north- western side. Numerous ancient footpaths exist on the periphery of the reserve while there are three footpaths that run across the interior of the forest.

The family structure is that of an extended family with parents, children and grand parents living together. The houses have small floor area, averaging 25 sq. meters and are constructed if wattle and daub. The roof is tatched with leaves of a forest treelet called Beru or with Bamboo leaves. Lately however, coconut leaves for tatching and clay tiles have begun to gain popularity as roofing materials.

The staple food of the villagers is rice, Yams such as sweet potato and Manioc (Cassawa), Breadfruit and Jak fruit, grown in home gardens are often used as substitutes for rice. Other plants commonly found in home gardens are vines of betel (Piper betel) black pepper and passion fruit. Fruit trees such as papaya and banana are also grown. For most of their other needs the villagers depend on plants often found in the forest. The sap needed for the manufacture of Jaggery is obtained tapping the in Florence of the Kitul palm ( Caryota urens ).

Another source of income is the manufacture of baskets and mats from rattan on 'wewal'. The villagers also exploit other plant products such as wild cardamon, resinuous exudates used as fumigating agents from Nawada ( Shorea stipularis ) and other shorea species.

The exudates from Kekuna ( Canarium zelani-cum ) is used as a caulk for damaged boats and as glue for domestic purposes. Numerous plants used in the native 'ayurvedic'system of medicine are also collected and sold by the villagers, of particular significance being the stem of Weniwel ( Coscinium fenestratum ) used by most Sri Lankan as an antidote for tetanus. Beraliya ( Shorea megistophylla ) provides a fruit which is often used as a substitute for flour.

CHOGM Srilanka 2013 November

The parameters for the live telecast of the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013 taking place at the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Nov. 15 are now available online.

Srilanka Airlines

Colombo: Responding to SriLankan Airlines' consistent overseas promotional drive to promote leisure golf combined with family holidays, over 170 amateur golfers from 15 nations across the globe have flown into Sri Lanka, to participate in the 14th SriLankan Airlines' Golf Classic on Victoria Golf and Country Resort course in Digana, Kandy, from 23- 27 October.

The international line-up of golfers will be joined by over 50 of local golfers that will increase the total number of participants to around 220 players, creating a great challenge and an opportunity to enjoy 4 consecutive days of leisure golf on the par 73, 18 hole course overlooking the picturesque Victoria Reservoir.

The tournament will be played on two consecutive days by each player and points will be allocated for a player's Gross and Nett Stableford scores over their two rounds.
"We are pleased with the very positive response from players in our online as well as offline destinations who are discovering Sri Lanka's potential as a leisure golf destination which offers a range of options for combined family holidays as well," said SriLankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe.

The tournament is supported by the main international aviation industry sponsor, Airbus Industries. Two other industry sponsors are Lufthansa Technik and Rolls Royce who have supported SriLankan's Golf Classic many times before. The airline's Communications Partner is Mobitel while all ground handling for the tournament and tours are entrusted to LankaSportReisen (LSR). Other sponsors are Premadasa Jewellers and Lion Breweries (Carlsberg).

Spread over 200 hectares with Knuckles Range as the backdrop, the Victoria course is among the best in the Indian sub-continent with a fairly challenging turf, as described by many who have played there.
"As the flag carrier, SriLankan Airlines has been actively promoting sports tourism to attract holidaymakers to the country," said the Chief Executive Officer Kapila Chandrasena. " We are encouraged to enhance and make the Golf Classic grow, as it is drawing a lot of interest from golfers all over the world, who are always looking out for new challenging courses."
This year the airline has attracted golfers from the US, Australia, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Malaysia, the UK, France, Germany, Japan, China, India, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Dubai, Pakistan, Italy and our own players in Sri Lanka.
Apart from the Golf Tournament Package which was on offer for the players, several excursions and tours to places such as Nuwara Eliya, Pinnawala, Kandy, Sigiriya, Dambulla, Kitulgala, Horton Plains, Minneriya and Uda Walawe were also available for accompanying families and friends on holiday.
SriLankan Airlines flies to 64 cities in 34 countries covering South Asia, South East Asia, the Far East, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and Canada.