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August 2002 Sketchbook from Sri Lanka

Richard Allen

Born in Newbury, Berkshire in 1964, an Art Foundation Course at Brighton was followed by a Degree in Graphic/Illustration at Kingston Polytechnic. Starting as a freelance illustrator in advertising, publishing and newspapers, my work has gradually drifted towards my main interest of birds and wildlife, especially after winning "British Birds", Bird Illustrator of the Year 1993. A keen birder from an early age, the bird rich estuaries and marshes of the Essex coast where I live have fuelled a passion for field-sketching. Recent travels to China, USA, S.E. Asia, Senegal and many parts of Europe have continued this interest and numerous sketchbooks have been filled.

The experience gained in the field has been put to good use in the many books illustrated. These include, "Concise Birds of the Western Palearctic", "The Handbook of Birds of the World", "A Field Guide to the Birds of South East Asia" and the recently published "Sunbirds and Flowerpeckers" (Amazon USA link or Amazon UK link). Current projects include a book on Birds of Paradise and illustrating a regular gardening column in "The Times" newspaper.

I have recently moved to Wivenhoe on the Colne estuary, next to a wood with Nightingales and woodpeckers to tempt me away from the drawing board.

1984 Foundation Studies, (Art & Design), Brighton Polytechnic

1987 BA Hons Graphic Design, Kingston Polytechnic

1988 Second Prize, Reader’s Digest Young Illustrators Competition

1993 Winner "British Birds" Bird Illustrator of the Year Competition

Regularly exhibited at the Society of Wildlife Artists exhibition, Mall Galleries, London

Also see Richard's work at bird illustrators.com

Signed prints and originals are for sale. E-mail Richard if you are interested.

Although this was a holiday, (honeymoon in fact), rather than a specific birding trip, Sri Lanka has a wealth of easily seen birds to keep a birder happy. Being mainly a Buddhist country there is no hunting, (it’s a years imprisonment for killing a water monitor!), making the birds and wildlife tame and approachable.

For this trip with Kuoni we did a seven-day tour, (the cultural triangle, Kandy and the Hill country), followed by five nights at a beach resort, during which time we did a day trip to Sinharaja. A trip list of 130 species with 14 endemics was a good total.

Brown-headed Barbet
After the initial excitement of my first, this proved to be a common bird in the lowlands. It’s distinctive call echoing around the plantations and gardens.

Indian Robin
These perky little birds were also common, especially around the base of the rock fortress at Sigiriya. The males often raising their tails and fluffing out the chestnut-red under-tail coverts whenever a rival approached too close.

Yellow-eared Bulbul
A Hill Country endemic this colourful bulbul was found around the golf course along with Sri Lankan White-eyes, just outside the slightly faded colonial grandeur of the Grand Hotel in Nuwara Eliya.

White-faced Starling
A day trip to the rainforest at Sinharaja with Amila from Jetwing Eco proved a fantastic experience for me, if less so for Sally who came down with the travel bug that had been going around our group. The endemic starling is usually a canopy bird so we were very lucky to get some great eye-level views. Other highlights were Spot-winged Thrush, Legge’s Flowerpecker and Malabar Trogon.

White-faced Starling

I would certainly recommend Sri Lanka for a cultural-non-birding/birding holiday, friendly people, great food, fantastic scenery and temples, and plenty of good birds.

August 2002 Sketchbook from Sri Lanka Richard Allen Born in Newbury, Berkshire in 1964, an Art Foundation Course at Brighton was followed by a Degree in Graphic/Illustration at Kingston Polytechnic. Starting as a freelance illustrator in advertising, publishing and newspapers, my work has gradually drifted towards my main interest of birds and wildlife, especially after winning "British Birds", Bird Illustrator of the Year 1993. A keen birder from an early age, the bird rich estuaries and marshes of the Essex coast where I live have fuelled a passion for field-sketching. Recent travels to China, USA, S.E. Asia, Senegal and many parts of Europe have continued this interest and numerous sketchbooks have been filled. The experience gained in the field has been put to good use in the many books illustrated. These include, "Concise Birds of the Western Palearctic", "The Handbook of Birds of the World", "A Field Guide to the Birds of South East Asia" and the recently published "Sunbirds and Flowerpeckers" (Amazon USA link or Amazon UK link). Current projects include a book on Birds of Paradise and illustrating a regular gardening column in "The Times" newspaper. I have recently moved to Wivenhoe on the Colne estuary, next to a wood with Nightingales and woodpeckers to tempt me away from the drawing board. 1984 Foundation Studies, (Art & Design), Brighton Polytechnic 1987 BA Hons Graphic Design, Kingston Polytechnic 1988 Second Prize, Reader’s Digest Young Illustrators Competition 1993 Winner "British Birds" Bird Illustrator of the Year Competition Regularly exhibited at the Society of Wildlife Artists exhibition, Mall Galleries, London Also see Richard's work at bird illustrators.com Signed prints and originals are for sale. E-mail Richard if you are interested.

Although this was a holiday, (honeymoon in fact), rather than a specific birding trip, Sri Lanka has a wealth of easily seen birds to keep a birder happy. Being mainly a Buddhist country there is no hunting, (it’s a years imprisonment for killing a water monitor!), making the birds and wildlife tame and approachable. For this trip with Kuoni we did a seven-day tour, (the cultural triangle, Kandy and the Hill country), followed by five nights at a beach resort, during which time we did a day trip to Sinharaja. A trip list of 130 species with 14 endemics was a good total.

Brown-headed Barbet After the initial excitement of my first, this proved to be a common bird in the lowlands. It’s distinctive call echoing around the plantations and gardens.

Indian Robin These perky little birds were also common, especially around the base of the rock fortress at Sigiriya. The males often raising their tails and fluffing out the chestnut-red under-tail coverts whenever a rival approached too close.

Yellow-eared Bulbul A Hill Country endemic this colourful bulbul was found around the golf course along with Sri Lankan White-eyes, just outside the slightly faded colonial grandeur of the Grand Hotel in Nuwara Eliya.

White-faced Starling A day trip to the rainforest at Sinharaja with Amila from Jetwing Eco proved a fantastic experience for me, if less so for Sally who came down with the travel bug that had been going around our group. The endemic starling is usually a canopy bird so we were very lucky to get some great eye-level views. Other highlights were Spot-winged Thrush, Legge’s Flowerpecker and Malabar Trogon.
I would certainly recommend Sri Lanka for a cultural-non-birding/birding holiday, friendly people, great food, fantastic scenery and temples, and plenty of good birds.