Dicrurus macrocercus Vieillot, 1817

A glossy black bird with a wide fork to the tail. They are predominantly found in open country and usually perches and hunts close to the ground.

This is a well-known, glossy blue-black bird with a very distinctive long, deeply forked tail. It has a small white spot in front of the eye and bristles around the bill. It is found everywhere in open country, particularly near cultivation and habitation. It is often seen alone perched on overhead wires, posts or other exposed perches keeping watch for insects and other prey, but it can also be seen riding on the backs of cattle, waiting to pounce on insects disturbed by the cows. It is one of the more useftil birds to fanners as it eats large quantities of insect pests. It is most active at dawn and dusk, hunting almost until dark. It is a very bold, pugnacious bird that loves to challenge larger birds, even raptors. It can often be seen harassing crows, themselves bullies, hence its nickname, ‘King Crow’. It will steal food from other birds, pursuing them until they drop their prey, which it will catch in mid-air. It is also fond of playing, dropping a feather or piece of paper in the air and catching it as it floats away. Its harsh, scolding calls resemble those of the Shikra hawk. It is particularly noisy at dusk.

D. m. macrocercus (Vieillot, 1817) D. m. albirictus (Hodgson, 1836) D. m. minor Blyth, 1850[4] D. m. cathoecus Swinhoe, 1871 D. m. thai Kloss, 1921 D. m. javanus Kloss, 1921 D. m. harterti Baker, 1918

Over its wide range the BlackDrongo breeds principally between April and August. The nest is a flimsy-bottomed cup of fine twigs, grasses and fibres cemented together with cobwebs. It is placed in a fork, usually near the extremity of a branch, from 12 to 30 feet from the ground. A large tree standing in open cultivation is usually selected. The eggs — three to five in number—show some variation in colour and markings, but are mostly whitish with brownish-red spots. Both sexes share in building, incubation and care of the young, and display great boldness in the defence of their nest.

About that of the Bulbul, with a relatively longer tail.

A glossy black bird with long, deeply forked tail. Sexes alike.

The Black Drongo is one of the most familiar birds of our countryside. It frequents every type of country except dense evergreen jungle and actual desert, though even in the latter it is steadily penetrating wherever irrigation canals make cultivation possible. The birds, however, are most abundant in open intensely cultivated areas, and may invariably be seen perched upon stakes, telegraph wires and the like in the proximity of crops. From these look-out posts they swoop down from time to time to carry off an unwary grasshopper. If too large to be swallowed entire, the victim is held under foot and torn to pieces with the sharp hook-tipped bill. They also capture moths and winged insects in the air like a flycatcher. Drongos may commonly be seen in attendance on grazing cattle -often riding on the animals' backs—snapping up the insects disturbed by their feet. For the same reason, forest fires or tired grass patches never fail to attract the birds. This species is highly beneficial to agriculture on account of the large number of injurious insects it destroys. They have a number of harsh, scolding or challenging calls, some closely resembling those of the Shikra hawk, and the birds become particularly noisy at the breeding season.

Seen singly, on telegraph wires etc. about cultivation.

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern ver 3.1