Black Drongo: how to recognise it
A bird of Asia and Oceania. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © sunnyjosef · CC BY · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Dicrurus macrocercus
- Family
- Drongos
- Size
- About 28 cm
- Habitat
- Open farmland, villages and scrub
- Found in
- Asia and Oceania
The key marks
A glossy black drongo with a deeply forked tail, often seen on wires and posts. Ashy Drongo is dull slaty grey rather than glossy black.
Voice
Loud, harsh, creaky whistles in varied phrases.
Good to know
It perches on wires and fence posts and swoops out to catch insects, and it will dive at hawks and crows near its nest.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Ashy Drongo. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in open farmland, villages and scrub. It is especially common in India and Nepal. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.