Wild Birds

Fork-tailed Drongos (Dicrurus adsimilis)

The Fork-tailed Drongos, Dicrurus adsimilis, is a drongo, a type of small passerine bird of the Old World tropics.

They were previously classed as the family Dicruridae, but that has been much enlarged to include a number of largely Australasian groups, such as the Australasian fantails, monarchs and paradise flycatchers.

Distribution / Range

The Fork-tailed Drongos is a common and widespread resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara. These insect-eating birds are usually found in open forests or bush.

Two to four eggs are laid in a cup nest in a fork high in a tree.

These are aggressive and fearless birds, given their small size, and will attack much larger species, including birds of prey if their nest or young are threatened.

Description

The male is mainly glossy black, although the wings are duller. It is large-headed and has the forked tail which gives the species its name.

The female is similar but less glossy. The bill is black and heavy, and the eye is red.

The Fork-tailed Drongo is 25 cm long. It has short legs and sits very upright whilst perched prominently, like a shrike.

It flycatches or take prey from the ground and is attracted to bush fires.

Vocalizations

The call is a metallic strink-strink.


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Gordon Ramel

Gordon is an ecologist with two degrees from Exeter University. He's also a teacher, a poet and the owner of 1,152 books. Oh - and he wrote this website.

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