Sri Lanka Frogmouth | Ceylon Frogmouth | Makkachikkada | Thavalavayan | മാക്കാച്ചിക്കാട | Wild Birds

Today we are going to familiarize the nocturnal bird, Sri Lanka Frogmouth or Ceylon Frogmouth. In ‘Malayalam’ vernacular, the bird is called as “ Makkachikkada”. Also known as ‘Thavalavayan”
Scientific name of the bird is Batrachostomus moniliger.
Of the two subspecies, Batrachostomus moniliger roonwali occurs in India.
The bird is distributed in the Western Ghats of southwest India and Sri Lanka.
Throughout its distribution, it occurs in dense, evergreen forests with dense undergrowth ranging from ca. 1,200 m above sea level in India, and up to ca. 1,800 m in Sri Lanka. Frogmouth seems to prefer undisturbed forests with dense undergrowth and cane and reed stands. It is also known to inhabit secondary forests and small forested groves near villages and agricultural land. It avoids forested areas with high human activity. Due to its nocturnal behaviour and camouflage its presence may be often overlooked.

The bird is about 23 cm long. Bill extremely broad and heavy with a distinctive hooked tip, and gape very wide and swollen, enlarged and pale brownish coloured. The bird has large head with eyes facing forward to provide a wild field of binocular vision.
Iris is brownish in colour. Narrow ring of bare skin around eye appears is grayish-pink. The bird also has short, stiff bristles in front of and surrounding the eyes. Feet pale yellow and claws are brownish .
The sexes differ slightly in plumage : Male bird is with grayish-brown forehead, crown, and nape finely vermiculated brown with some buffy speckling and bold black spots. Narrow, pale collar on hindneck varies in length and often bordered by dark flecking. Mantle, back, and rump are grayish brown, with buffy-white speckling intermixed with fine, black spots. Uppertail coverts similar to the rest of the upperparts, but plainer and lacking black spots.
Primaries are grayish brown with pale tips and spaced-out dark barring giving them the appearance of having gray bands. Gray uppertail also similar with black barring giving it the appearance of having distinct gray bands.
Supercilium and ear coverts are buffish. Row of whitish spots around the throat may have black edges. Chin, throat, and breast grayish brown. Breast also vermiculated brown, with variable amounts of white speckling and small, black spots formed by the dark, triangular tips of the feathers. Belly and flanks paler, lightly speckled, vermiculated brown, and demarcated from breast by bold white spots which continue down to the lower belly. Undertail coverts buff, and lightly speckled, vermiculated, or barred.
Female bird plumage is a dark and overall rich rufous. Forehead, crown, and nape are rufous, with some or no small black spots. Pale spots on hindneck are reduced or missing altogether. Mantle and back are rufous throughout with some small dark triangular tips to the feathers. The rump and uppertail coverts are plain.
Row of white spots around the throat broken or reduced, or missing altogether. Chin, throat, and breast concolorous with some or no black spots. Belly and flanks neatly demarcated by an arc of white spots, similar as in the male but much more reduced. Rest of underparts less marked with white, pale rufous, and on average, plainer than male.
Juvenile birds are usually paler than adults but the plumage color ranges from grayish brown to rufous.
After hatching, chicks are covered entirely in white down. Around 10 days, feathers ranging from grayish brown to reddish brown in colour begin to appear on the chick.
Frogmouth feeds on insects, catching them in flight or gleaning them from the ground or tree branches. The diet consists of insects. The birds are sometimes mobbed at its day roost by small songbirds.
Frogmouths are rarely seen during the day except at roost sites. It regularly uses the same roost spot for months. When alarmed at its perch, it slowly moves its head, pointing its bill upward, and it can easily be mistaken for a jagged, broken branch. It relies on this crypsis and will often sit still a long time before making an escape. It may open its mouth wide in a threat display.

It is vocal at dusk, the call of the female being a loud, screechy "shkeerauuw" which drops in volume and ends is a series of hiccups. Another call is a series of rapid "skwar-skwar-skwar" which is produced by both male and female.
The breeding season is January to April. The nest is a small pad made of moss lined with feathers and covered on the outside with lichens and bark. The bird incubates a single white egg, covering the nest and holding the tail flush with the tree, taking on the outline of a lichen-covered snag. The male often broods during the day, while both parents share the duty during the night. After the chick fledges, the male destroys the nest. The juvenile may stay with the parents for a couple of months, huddling between them at the roost
In IUCN global red list, the bird is included under “ Least Concern”.