NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Sri Lanka Frogmouth
Batrachostomus moniliger Blyth, 1849
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Sri Lanka frogmouth, Sri Lankan frogmouth or Ceylon frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger) is a small frogmouth found in the Western Ghats of south India and Sri Lanka. Related to the nightjars, it is nocturnal and is found in forest habitats. The plumage coloration resembles that of dried leaves and the bird roosts quietly on branches, making it difficult to see. Each has a favourite roost that it uses regularly unless disturbed. It has a distinctive call that is usually heard at dawn and dusk. The sexes differ slightly in plumage.
Wikipedia contributors, Sri Lanka frogmouth; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:17:50.812519+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Batrachostomus moniliger Blyth, 1849
- Name authority
- Blyth, 1849
- Common name
- Sri Lanka Frogmouth
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Caprimulgiformes
- Family
- Podargidae
- Genus
- Batrachostomus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderCaprimulgiformes
- familyPodargidae
- subfamilyBatrachostominae
- genusBatrachostomus Gould, 1838
- speciesBatrachostomus moniliger Blyth, 1849
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Batrachostomus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Large FrogmouthBatrachostomus auritus (J. E. Gray, 1829) | PodargidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Palawan FrogmouthBatrachostomus chaseni Stresemann, 1937 | PodargidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sunda FrogmouthBatrachostomus cornutus (Temminck, 1822) | PodargidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bornean FrogmouthBatrachostomus mixtus Sharpe, 1892 | PodargidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Short-tailed FrogmouthBatrachostomus poliolophus Hartert, 1892 | PodargidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gould's FrogmouthBatrachostomus stellatus (Gould, 1837) | PodargidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dulit FrogmouthBatrachostomus harterti Sharpe, 1892 | PodargidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=555517 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:KZRG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.