D. m. macrocercus (Vieillot, 1817)[2] D. m. albirictus (Hodgson, 1836)[3] D. m. minor Blyth, 1850[4] D. m. cathoecus R. Swinhoe, 1871[5] D. m. thai Kloss, 1921[6] D. m. javanus Kloss, 1921[6] D. m. harterti Baker, 1918[7]
Approximate range
Breeding visitor
Present year-round
Winter visitor only
Synonyms
Buchanga atra Bhuchanga albirictus[8]
The black drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus) 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.
The species is known for its aggressive behaviour towards much larger birds, such as crows, never hesitating to dive-bomb any bird of prey that invades its territory. This behaviour earns it the informal name of king crow. Smaller birds often nest in the well-guarded vicinity of a nesting black drongo. Previously grouped along with the African fork-tailed drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis), the Asian forms are now treated as a separate species with several distinct populations.
The black drongo is listed as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on the IUCN Red List, due to its large range and relative commonness. It has been introduced to some Pacific islands, where it has thrived and become abundant to the point of threatening and causing the extinction of native and endemic bird species there.
^BirdLife International (2016). Dicrurus macrocercus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22706961A94099367.en
^Vieillot, Louis Pierre (1817). Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle Appliquée aux Arts. Vol. 9. Chez Deterville. p. 588.
^Hodgson, Brian Houghton (1836). "On some new species of the Edolian and Ceblepyrine subfamilies of the Laniidae of Nepal". The India Review and Journal of Foreign Science and the Arts. 1 (8): 324–329.
^Blyth, Edward (1850). "Remarks on the modes of variation of nearly affined species or races of Birds, chiefly inhabitants of India". The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 19: 221–239.
^Swinhoe, Robert (1871). "A revised catalogue of the birds of China and its islands, with descriptions of new species, references to former notes, and occasional remarks". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 2: 337–423.
^ abKloss, Cecil Boden (1921). "New and known oriental birds". Journal of the Federated Malay States Museums. 10 (2): 207–213.
^Baker, Edward Charles Stuart (1918). "Some Notes on the Dicruridae". Novitates Zoologicae. 25: 299.
^Neave, Sheffield A., ed. (1939). Nomenclator Zoologicus; a List of the Names of Genera and Subgenera in Zoology from the Tenth Edition of Linnaeus, 1758, to the End of 1935 (with supplements). Volume 1. Zoological Society of London, London. p. 425.
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