Black Drongo
Dicrurus macrocercus
The Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus) is a common drongo found in 28 countries, weighing about 48 g. The black drongo is a small Asian passerine bird of the drongo family Dicruridae.
About the Black Drongo
The black drongo is a small Asian passerine bird of the drongo family Dicruridae. It is a common resident breeder in much of tropical southern Asia from southwest Iran through Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka east to southern China and Indonesia and accidental visitor of Japan. It is an all black bird with a distinctive forked tail and measures 28 cm (11 in) in length. It feeds on insects, and is common in open agricultural areas and light forest throughout its range, perching conspicuously on a bare perch or along power or telephone lines.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
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.
What the Black Drongo sounds like
Where it lives
When to see it
The Black Drongo can be seen all year round, with peak activity in February. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Black Drongo?
- This bird is glossy black with a wide fork to the tail. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Black Drongo?
- The Black Drongo is a small sized bird weighing about 48 g.
- Where can you see a Black Drongo?
- The Black Drongo occurs in 28 countries, including India, Taiwan, Thailand, Nepal and China.
- What does a Black Drongo sound like?
- You can listen to 3 field recordings of the Black Drongo on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to a Black Drongo?
- The Black Drongo is most easily confused with the Fork-tailed Drongo, the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo and the Ashy Drongo.
- Is the Black Drongo endangered?
- The Black Drongo is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Black Drongo for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
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