Birds on the banks of the Chanrikawewa, Sri Lanka.

An intermediate Egret and a Red-wattled Lapwing building their nests on the bank of the Chandrikawewa, Sri Lanka.

Egret near a pond, Sithawaka, Sri Lanka.

Egrets seem to have increased in numbers in Sri Lanka. They are now seen in villages and towns in Sri Lanka, close to rubbish dumps. When they rest for the night on trees any small disturbance below the tree makes them empty their bowels on the persons below. If the tree is over a highway, the road is covered with white bird shit accompanied by an unpleasant smell. Very often residents chase them away by firing sky rocket fireworks at trees, during sun-down when they come to roost.

An egret on a water buffalo, Kuruwita, Sri Lanka.

Domesticated water buffalos are used extensively in agriculture, from time immemorial in Sri Lanka. Egrets live in symbiosis with the water buffalos. The insects stirred up from the soil by the water baffalos, form an ideal source of food for the egrets. The egrets also pick the ticks from the water buffalos, benefitting the water buffalos. I took this picture on the road to Bopath Ella, the beautiful waterfall, from Kuruwita.