Tortoises and Terrapins

 


                    INDIAN STAR TORTOISE

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Indian Star Tortoise

Image
The Indian Star Tortoise is one of the slow moving reptiles in Sri Lanka. It’s considered as an agricultural pest in most parts of the island as it feeds upon cultivations. The term ‘Star‘applies to them because of the pattern of the shell. Tortoises are active during the day and can be seen foraging after rains. They are widely distributed among the dry zone. There are many varieties of star tortoises in Sri Lanka. Male Star Tortoises are comparatively smaller in size than females. The female tortoise lays round while eggs in a hole dug by her own back feet and buries them. The easiest way to differentiate between male and females is that the female has a flat belly while the male has a concave on the belly. This concave helps the male tortoise keep the balance when it climbs on top of the female during mating. These tortoises are not venomous and don’t usually bite humans nor cause any harm to humans. But they have teeth and can bite if provoked. They creep into their shell when th...
Read more

The Mole Cricket

Image
The mole cricket is an insect which enters our houses during night times. It flies for some time, and then crawls along the floor. It has two very strong shovel-like legs to dig sand, as it lives underground. They fed on other insects and roots of plants, making them an agricultural pest. They are brown in colour and may be around one to two inches in length. Adult mole crickets have wings only during their breeding season, to fly away in search of a mate. It chirps a loud sound at night. These crickets are not venomous.                                          
Read more

The Red Wattled Lapwing

Image
                                               The Red Wattled Lapwing is a very common species of bird which could be found in most parts of the country. The popular phrase ‘ Did-he-do-it, pity-to-do-it’ is somewhat close to its loud cry, making it a very popular bird among our childhood. As the name itself suggests, it has a red wattle running downwards from its eyes. The red wattle, the black, white and brown colour body easily makes them identifiable. Lapwings are ground dwelling birds which are known to rest on trees at night. Their call at night from tree tops meant that some animal or human is approaching in the dark which was said to be very helpful to soldiers during the period of war in Sri Lanka. Lapwings feed on small insects, small fish and small reptiles which they could forage in the ground during daytime. They can be usually fou...
Read more