The Ceylon Spurfowl is a hard-to-see bird of Sri Lankan forests. Males and females have different plumage, and the female incubates the eggs in a ground nest.
The male is deep maroon with white spangling edged in black; the female is reddish brown. Both sexes have red bills and legs.
Sri Lanka Spurfowl sometimes forage alongside other mammals. Cameras recorded them feeding in the presence of chevrotains, muntjac and deer, and also documented adult groups of two males and one female.
A study published in 2022 in three protected areas placed cameras about 25 centimetres above ground. At Sinharaja, the extent of leaf litter featured in models relating habitat to spurfowl occurrence.
Canopy cover was correlated with the extent and depth of litter. The researchers suggested that this connection between trees and the forest floor helps provide habitat for small prey animals. Trees overhead and leaf litter underfoot together characterize the bird’s forest habitat.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The 2022 paper reported human-caused forest fires at Maduru Oya. They recommend protecting natural forest and considering spurfowl habitat requirements before development projects, including roads.