Monday 18 March 2019

Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus)

OTHER NAMES: King Crow
Latin Etymology: Dicrurus ("fork-tailed") macrocercus ("long-tailed")
Adult Black Drongo (subspecies D. m. thaiat Florican Grasslands, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Dicrurus macrocercus thai
Weight: 40g  /  Length: 28cm  /  Wingspan: ?
NO UK STATUS IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The drongos are a family of long-tailed, largely black birds with distinctive forked tail and a slightly crow like vibe, found in Asia and Africa.  The Black Drongo is primarily an insect feeder, and will perch on an exposed spot and use it to spot prey.  Very aggressive to larger birds like crows and raptors, smaller species will actually use this to their advantage by nesting near to drongos to provide some free security.  While native to South East Asia, it has been introduced to some Pacific Islands where it has become an ecological pest.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Dicruridae
Genus: Dicrurus
SUBSPECIES: D. c. cathoecus, D. c. dicruridae, D. c. harterti, D. c. javanus, D. c. macrocercus, D. c. thai

 - Sighting Locations -
CAMBODIA - Khmer: អន្ទេបខ្មៅ ("Black tongue")
 A common resident.
SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - A number seen Florican Grassland Reserve and at Siem Reap

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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