Black Drongo
A species of Drongos Scientific name : Dicrurus macrocercus Genus : Drongos
Black Drongo, A species of Drongos
Botanical name: Dicrurus macrocercus
Genus: Drongos
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Description People often ask General Info
Description
This bird is glossy black with a wide fork to the tail. Adults usually have a small white spot at the base of the gape. The iris is dark brown (not crimson as in the similar ashy drongo). The sexes cannot be told apart in the field. Juveniles are brownish and may have some white barring or speckling towards the belly and vent, and can be mistaken for the white-bellied drongo. First-year birds have white tips to the feathers of the belly, while second-years have these white-tipped feathers restricted to the vent. They are aggressive and fearless birds, and although only 28 cm (11 in) in length, they will attack much larger species that enter their nesting territory, including crows and birds of prey. This behaviour led to their former name of king crow. They fly with strong flaps of the wing and are capable of fast manoeuvres that enable them to capture flying insects. With short legs, they sit upright on thorny bushes, bare perches or electricity wires. They may also perch on grazing animals. They are capable of producing a wide range of calls but a common call is a two note tee-hee call resembling that of the shikra (Accipiter badius). 
Size
28 cm
Feeding Habits
Black Drongo primarily consume insects, including grasshoppers, termites, and beetles, employing flight to disturb prey on tree branches. They frequent ploughed fields for grubs and occasionally eat fish, nectar from flowers like Erythrina, and grains.
Habitat
Black Drongo typically inhabits open environments such as grasslands, savannas, farmlands, and areas with scattered trees. These birds are equally at home in human-modified landscapes like villages, suburbs, and urban parks, where they often perch on telephone wires or trees beside roads. Geographically, their presence spans across open plains, coastal belts, and openly wooded hills at altitudes ranging from lowlands to mountainous regions, reaching up to 2600 meters in some areas. In terms of vegetation, black Drongo may be associated with oak and rhododendron trees in hilly regions or willows lining pools. Notably, black Drongo avoids dense forests, preferring the surroundings of rice fields, pasture lands, and places where livestock such as water buffaloes graze.
Dite type
Insectivorous
People often ask
General Info
Distribution Area
They are found as summer visitors to northeastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan but are residents from the Indus Valley until Bangladesh and into India and Sri Lanka. Some populations show seasonal movements that are poorly understood while populations in Korea are known to be migratory. Black drongos were introduced just before the Second World War from Taiwan to the island of Rota to help in the control of insects. By 1967, they were the fourth most commonly seen birds in roadside counts on Guam and are today the most abundant bird there.
Scientific Classification
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