Distribution of Sri Lanka Frogmouth Batrachostomus moniliger in India

The Sri Lanka Frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger) is an elusive nocturnal bird whose distribution is known to be restricted to the forests of the southern Western Ghats of India and Sri Lanka. Following several sporadic sightings reports of the species north of its known range, we conducted a survey between 12^th March 2011 and 10^th April 2011 to determine its presence. Random areas in the northern Western Ghats were selected and regions of earlier sightings were surveyed. Call playback survey technique was employed on predetermined transects and calls were played every 200 m and responses by frogmouths were recorded. We recorded 51 individuals from 28 locations in a 10 km² area. We attempted to maximise visual identification and to establish with maximum certainty the sex of the bird. All detected frogmouths were found only in one of the three surveyed areas. We consider the recent sightings to be the result of a change northwards in the distribution of the species owing to climate change.