I'm Photogenic!...........

Oriental Garden Lizard/Calotes versicolor/ගාර කටුස්සා









See more close-ups on Macro Monday.

At The Lake In Kandy.........................

I spent a little time at the lake in Kandy last Thursday. I like this particular lake for the photographic opportunities it offers. On one side of the lake there are some dead trees fallen in to it and you can always see a variety of waterbirds, turtles and huge water monitors perched on them and enjoying the sun.  Inhabiting a lake in the middle of a very thickly populated city, these birds are not as vary of us humans. However, this photography expedition didn't go all that well, the sunlight was way too bright, and I haven't    got the hang of exposure compensation and spot metering. Dah!.....

Asian Openbill Stork/ Anastomus oscitans


















Black-crowned Nigt Heron/ Nycticorax nycticorax

 





















Black-crowned Night Heron /Nycticorax nycticorax Juvenile

Little Cormorant /Microcarbo niger/දියකාවා

Parker's Black Turtle/ Melanochelys trijuga parkeri/ පාකර්ගේ ගල් ඉබ්බා

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 


















Water Monitor/Varanus salvator salvator/ කබරගොයා

The Skink Goes Crawlin'.........උරගෙයක් හදුනා ගනිමු

I used to see these lizards around my old place in Panadura quite a lot, but during the near six years I've been in Kurunegala, I've seen them only twice.  This particular one you see in the photos was on a palm tree trunk near the tank of Kurunegala, my second siting of this reptile in this area. I searched online for identifying this one, and it seems to be a Common Skink/ Eutropis carinata lankae/සුලබ හිකනලා,  an endemic subspecies. 

 

Adult Male Oriental Garden Lizard

Oriental Garden Lizard(Calotes versicolor)males display a range of colors from the grayish brown you see in this recently taken photo to crimson red. I hope to post a few photos at once that shoes these critters showing all those colors sometime.
Image by roosterfeather via Flickr 

Oriental Garden Lizard

                                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                                                              Here     are    some     photos    of     Oriental Garden Lizard(Calotes versicolor)   that I've taken. This is a female juvenile that I've observed to be  a permanent tenement of my garden.

This one here is an adult male that I photographed at my workplace' Garden.

Vibrant Live In A Dirty Canal 3, Water monitor, (Varanus salvator) Aka Kabaragoya, A juvenile

The lizard you see in this video is a scavenger, and is well adapted to urban environments and commonly seen in most part of Sri Lanka. If confronted, it strikes aggressively with its tail. Need more info? Here it is....

Common Green Forest Lizard(Calotes calotes)

I captured these crawlers in my neighborhood. These are not as common as oriental garden lizards. learn more...... 

From The Recent Trip To My Old Place 01- Common Indian Monitor (Varanus bengalensis)

I spent three days with my Parents at my old place in Panadura nearly two weeks a go. That's when I shot this footage in a coconut plantation. These lizards are seen  in various parts  of the country, including human habitats. They prey on worms, arthropods, and snails. It's a simple matter for them to crush a snail's shell with a snap of jaws. I don't know whether they have any predators other than some local folks who have a taste for their flesh and eggs. Learn more................