Mating Sri Lankan Rat Snakes

We have had Rat Snakes (more commonly called gerandiya's) in our garden for as long as I can remember. They are non-venomous snakes that feed on all sorts of reptiles, insects, birds and small mammals. Although I had been seeing them quite frequently, I had never seen them mating till last December. More info and images inside.

Asian Groundling

The Asian Groundling is a common dragonfly found throughout Sri Lanka and also in many other Asian countries. These images were captured in Anuradhapura. Read on for more info and images.

Puliyankulam Tank - Anuradhapura

Puliyankulam is a relatively small tank and is situated on the A9 highway north of Anuradhapura. It is about a ten minute drive from the centre of town and is definitely worth a visit. For those of you who are not aware of what a "tank" is, it is a man made lake that is used for irrigation. The north central province of Sri Lanka is covered with a number of tanks that have been built over a thousand years ago, with the aim of collecting rain water in order to cultivate paddy in the drier months. More info and images after the jump.

Asian Brown Flycatcher

The Asian Brown Flycatcher is an insectivorous species which breeds in Japan, Eastern Siberia and the Himalayas. It is a migrant and winters in Southern India and Sri Lanka.  More info after the jump.

Ruwanweliseya - Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Ruwanweliseya & Mirisawetiya - Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

The Ruwanweliseya Stupa, which is considered an architectural marvel, was built by King Dutugemunu. It is also known as Mahathupa, Swarnamali Chaitya and Rathnamali Dagaba. The Stupa is one of the worlds tallest monuments, standing at 300 feet with a circumference of 950 feet. More info and images after the jump.

Purple-rumped Sunbird

The Purple-rumped Sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica) is endemic to the Indian subcontinent . Like other Sunbirds, it is small in size and feeds on nectar and the occasional insect.  More images and info inside.

Havelock Place Bungalow - Food Photography

Bread & Butter

This post is a bit different from the usual. I took a few shots of the Food at the Havelock Place Bungalow in December and in this post I will describe how each of the five shots were taken and lit. All the shots were taken with a Canon 50mm f1.8 lens mounted on a 7D More info after the jump.

Lankathilaka Viharaya, Kandy

 

The Lankathilaka temple, situated on the outskirts of Kandy, is one of the finest examples of Sinhalese temple architecture. More info and images inside.