Bird Guide

Fork-tailed Drongo vs Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

Fork-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis)

Fork-tailed Drongo

Dicrurus adsimilis

Small40 gWoodland

The bird possesses a robust black beak and red eyes. When born, they lack feathers, exhibiting reddish skin, an orange beak, yellow gape flange, brown eyes, and a black beak. Juvenile fork-tailed drongos are dark brown tone with some buff-colored feather tips, a less pronounced tail fork, brown or grey eyes, and a pale mouth. While resembling adults, they lack the glossy shine on the lower body and display pale feathers on certain areas. Both sexes share a black body with a blue-green iridescence in specific regions. Voice: This bird is notably vocal, often commencing the dawn chorus and often is the last heard at dusk. Their pre-dawn calls comprise variations such as jwaaa-jwaaa and jeewy-jeeerr. They exhibit a diverse repertoire of vocalizations, ranging from sharp calls, brief whistles, and squeaks to fluid, raspy, and scratchy notes delivered rapidly or with extended pauses.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Anne Ndung'u · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Diego Rubolini · CC BY 4.0
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus)

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

Dicrurus paradiseus

Medium86 gForest

In most of its range in Asia, this is the largest of the drongo species and is readily identifiable by the distinctive tail rackets and the crest of curled feather that begin in front of the face above the beak and along the crown to varying extents according to the subspecies. The tail with twirled rackets is distinctive and in flight it can appear as if two large bees were chasing a black bird. In the eastern Himalayas the species can be confused with the lesser racket-tailed drongo, however the latter has flat rackets with the crest nearly absent.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Christoporus Merung · CC0
Photo: Rison Thumboor from Thrissur, India · CC BY 2.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Fork-tailed Drongo and Greater Racket-tailed Drongo.