Funambulus layardi
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
Layard's palm squirrel or flame-striped jungle squirrel (Funambulus layardi) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae endemic to Sri Lanka. The validity of the subspecies F. l. dravidianus based on a single specimen from the southern tip of India has been questioned, and is probably a juvenile F. sublineatus. Known as මූකලන් ලේනා (mukalan lena) in Sinhala.
It is endemic to the central highlands of Sri Lanka. Few observations are known out of central hills, such as from Trincomalee and Matara districts, but it remains unresolved. It can be seen in Knuckles mountain range and other high altitude ranges in western basin of the central hills.
Its head and body length is 12–17 cm, with a 14-cm tail. In color, it is blackish brown with three stripes on its dorsum; the central stripe is broadest and longest with an orange hue in F. signatus, yellow in F. layardi. Its underparts are reddish orange in color, and its snout is small. Tail bushy and blackish brown with some red in it. Some individuals also possess some grizzling appearance on it. Fur is soft, short and dense.
Its natural habitat is subtropical and tropical moist... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Layard's Palm Squirrel sighting in Sinharaja Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 83 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 5th most-seen of the 8 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and October
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Layard's Palm Squirrel in Sinharaja Forest Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in June and November, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Layard's Palm Squirrel sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only Sinharaja Forest Reserve, in our data
Sinharaja Forest Reserve is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Layard's Palm Squirrel sightings: about 40% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Funambulus
The closest relatives of the Layard's Palm Squirrel that you can see in Sinharaja Forest Reserve (genus Funambulus, Palm Squirrels) are Indian Palm Squirrel (about 50%) and Nilgiri Palm Squirrel (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Layard's Palm Squirrel is recorded against all the mammals logged in Sinharaja Forest Reserve (83 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
