New 'Checklist books' for bird watchers

(Reproduced from Daily Mirror of February 14, 2002)

"These are the most lavishly produced checklists of any country I have seen" commented Dominic Mitchell, the editor of Birdwatch Magazine. Mitchell, the editor of one of the most widely read British bird watching magazines should know what he is talking about. "His sentiments capture perfectly what we set out to do'' says Hiran Cooray Managing Director of Jetwing Hotels, who sponsored the publication.

"In addition to its value for ornithologists we saw the need to create a positive and up-market image of Sri Lanka" he adds. The two checklists, one a national list and the other on the birds of the Yala protected area complex, is a product of a partnership between Jetwing and the Sri Lanka Natural History Society (SLNHS).

Jetwing hopes that this will be one of several outputs of a path breaking initiative for a giant in tourism to work in partnership with the research and conservation community under the Jetwing Research Initiative.

The personalities behind the checklists are household names in birding circles. Writer, photographer, publisher and Jetwing Eco Holidays Director Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne marshalled a team to produce the checklists for the Sri Lanka Natural History Society. Co-authoring the checklists is Deepal Warakagoda with whom Gehan worked on the best-selling Photographic Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka published by New Holland in London.

According to Tara Wikramanayake, Hony. Secretary SLNHS, what sets these checklists apart is the contribution by wildlife artist Lester Perera. The pages are liberally adorned with elegant drawings, which impart on the checklists a design feel, which would make users almost reluctant to use it other than as a source of reference.

The checklists will appeal to collectors and serious birders who will use them in the field predicts Rohan de Soysa, the President of the SLNHS. He is especially pleased that all three of the main contributors, together with Nirmal de Silva Wijeyeratne who assisted in the database and Amila Salgado who wrote the section on reserves, are members of the Society.

To elevate it above the traditionally simple checklist, Gehan worked closely with Tilak Conrad and his design team at Copyline. "If we are to create awareness and interest, we must create quality publications at an affordable price," he states. As an Executive Director of Jetwing Eco Holidays, he is no stranger to promoting Sri Lanka's bio diversity.

The company's website is one of the most innovative websites in the world and has a downloadable list of species and distinct sub-species of Sri Lankan birds. Amila Salgado hopes that the checklists will encourage people to disseminate wildlife information on-line using the Jetwing Eco website at www.jetwingeco.com.

The National and Yala checklists are of 24 and 16 pages respectively. Both are preceded by a map showing key birding sites in Sri Lanka, a foreword by Rohan de Soysa and a discussion on the uses of a checklist and the nomenclature, taxonomy and the status of birds as used in the checklist. Both books have information on membership of the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL), the SLNHS and a book list. Each checklist has 5 columns of tick boxes for birders to tick off species seen on birding sessions. Both have attractive colour covers with images by Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne.

The national checklist cover features one of the few photographs taken so far of the rare and endemic Red-faced Malkoha.

The National and Yala Checklists are priced at Rs. 450 and Rs. 400 respectively and are available from leading bookshops including Lake House Bookshop, Hyde Park Corner, Barefoot, Bookland and ODEL.

Top

Contact Information: Send mail to webmaster@priu.gov.lk with questions or comments about this web site. 
Last Updated Date: September 25, 2003 .