Bundala National Park is an internationally important wintering ground for migratory water birds in Sri Lanka. Bundala harbors 197 species of Birds, the highlight being the Greater Flamingo, which migrate in large flocks. Bundala was designated a wildlife sanctuary in 1969.The ecological areas of the national park contain seven terrestrial habitat types and six wetland types. The dry thorny shrubs and herbs being the most abundant plant life. A total of 383 plant species belonging to 90 families have been recorded from the park.The Bundala National Park has been identified as an outstanding Important Bird Area in the South Indian and Sri Lankan wetlands.  324 species of vertebrates have been recorded in the national park, which include 32 species of fish, 15 species of amphibians, 48 species of reptiles, 197 species of birds and 32 species of mammals. 52 species of butterflies are among the invertebrates.Bundala national park is Sri Lanka’s only declared Ramsar wetland and honoured internationally for its significant role for hosting over 20,000 shorebirds at any given time from August to April. Every species of water bird found in the country is said to visit this national park.