Article for 2011 Apr 16
Part of the “Sri Lanka” series.
2011
2011 Apr
(the first two articles in this series mention vomiting)
Throughout this series of articles, there are several phrases with the initials “IBIS”, alluding to my avian life-list, the Index of Birds I’ve Sensed, which I often added to whilst in Sri Lanka. The frequency of such phrases declines when I see fewer examples of new species. How many can you find? Some examples to start you off are:
- “...in beds (I slept)” (2011 Apr 10)
- “Iridescent birds including sapphire-green...” (2011 Apr 11)
- “I became increasingly soaked.” (2011 Apr 12)
- “Indeed, bee-eaters (II species)” (“II” being Roman numerals for “two”: I was getting desperate) (2011 Apr 13)
- “...is banned if swallows...” (2011 Apr 14)
- “Interesting. But I’m supposed...” (2011 Apr 17)
Apr 16 Sat 
In the town of Pinnawala we saw more than fifty elephants, including one with three feet (the right fore-leg was a stump). We also watched Sri Lankan squirrels (Indian palm squirrels, Funambulus palmarum) which resemble chipmunks, and are sacred to Hindus because a god/lord/Lord stroked one, leaving marks on its back.
And we drank water.
Mum bought a nice batik for 1,500 rupees (£8·57) - cheap. (Batik is cloth dyed using wax to prevent the wrong areas from being dyed.)