Black Drongo

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Black Drongo

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Dicruridae
Genus:	Dicrurus
Species:	D. macrocercus

Binomial name

Dicrurus macrocercus
Vieillot, 1817

The Black Drongo, Dicrurus macrocercus, is a small Asian bird. The drongos are passerines restricted to the Old World tropics. They were previously classed as the family Dicruridae, but that has been much enlarged to include a number of largely Australasian groups, such as the Australasian fantails and the monarchs and paradise flycatchers.

The Black Drongo is a common resident breeder in much of tropical southern Asia from southwest Iran through India and Sri Lanka east to southern China and Indonesia.

This species is usually found in open forests and similar lightly wooded habitats, including farmland and habitation. Three or four eggs are laid in a light cup nest placed in a fork often on the bare outer branches of trees.

These are aggressive and fearless birds, 28 cm in length, and will attack much larger species if their nest or young are threatened. There are also some cases of Drongos preying on small birds. They have also been on occasion seen feeding on dead fish.

The adult Black Drongo is mainly glossy blue-black, although the wings are duller. The tail is long and deeply forked, and there is a white spot in front of the eye. Young birds are dull dark brown.

The Black Drongo has short legs and sits very upright whilst perched prominently, like a shrike. It eats insects and other small animals.

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Dicrurus macrocercus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6
Ali, Sálim (1951b) White-bellied Drongo catching a bird. J. Bombay Nat.Hist. Soc. 49(4): 786.
D'Silva, C., Sankaran, R., Mohapatra, K. K. and Chandra, J. (1990) Indian Black Drongo Dicrurus adsimilis eating a bird. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 87:301.
Jayson, E. A., and K. K. Ramachandran. 1994. Indian Black Drongo Dicrurus adsimilis (Bechstein) feeding on a small bird. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 91 (2): 320.
Osmaston,B. B. (1922b) Predaceous habit of the Common King Crow. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 28: 546.
Senthilmurugan, B. (2005) Fish in the diet of the Black Drongo. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 102(1):116
Sridharan, U. and Sivasubramanian, C. (1987) Additional records of the Black Drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis) feeding on birds. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 83(Suppl.): 212-213.
Wenden,H. (1875) (Letter about Buchanga albirictus eating a lizard. Stray Feathers 3: 330.