A study on tree diversity in lowland, sub-montane and upper montane forest formations along the Hapugastenna nature trail in the Peak Wilderness sanctuary

Abstract

Number of endemic bird species, which is special interest among the wildlife enthusiasts for all the time, continuously fluctuated in the ornithological history of Sri Lanka, To clarify the number of endemic species present in Sri Lanka all 1to study the change of this number in the history of Ornithology in Sri Lanka, systematic literature survey was done. Twenty major publications including field guides and checklists that are published from 1854 to 2006 were considered.The number of endemics has changed from a maximum of 4 7 to a minimum of20 from 1854 to 2006. Sixty two of the present species were endemic at least once in the history although there are only 26 species are to be considered as definite endemics at present.