About the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
The greater racket-tailed drongo is a medium-sized Asian bird which is distinctive in having elongated outer tail feathers with webbing restricted to the tips. They are placed along with other drongos in the family Dicruridae. They are conspicuous in the forest habitats often perching in the open and by attracting attention with a wide range of loud calls that include perfect imitations of many other birds. One hypothesis suggested is that these vocal imitations may help in the formation of mixed-species foraging flocks, a feature seen in forest bird communities where many insect feeders forage together. These drongos will sometimes steal insect prey caught or disturbed by other foragers in…
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ID tip
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.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
What the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo sounds like
Where it lives
When to see it
Peak activity in February · a resident species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Ashy DrongoDicrurus leucophaeusThe adult ashy drongo is mainly dark grey, and the tail is long and deeply forked, There are a number of subspecies varying in the shade of the grey plumage.
Fork-tailed DrongoDicrurus adsimilisThe bird possesses a robust black beak and red eyes.
Bronzed DrongoDicrurus aeneusThis drongo is somewhat smaller than the black drongo and has more metallic gloss with a spangled appearance on the head, neck and breast.
Side by side: Black Drongo vs Greater Racket-tailed Drongo · Fork-tailed Drongo vs Greater Racket-tailed Drongo · Ashy Drongo vs Greater Racket-tailed Drongo · Bronzed Drongo vs Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
Learn the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo for real
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