Drongo

Last updated

Drongo
Dicrurus hottentottus-20030823.jpg
Hair-crested drongo (D. hottentottus striatus)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Superfamily: Corvoidea
Family: Dicruridae
Vigors, 1825
Genus: Dicrurus
Vieillot, 1816
Type species
Corvus balicassius (Balicassiao)
Linnaeus, 1766
Dicrurus phylogeny
Dicruridae

aeneus

 
 
 

paradiseus

annectens

 
 

megarhynchus

bracteatus

 

hottentotus

balicassius

remifer

 
 
 

waldenii

 

aldabranus

forficatus

 
 
 

adsimilis

macrocercus

modestus

 

fuscipennis

 

leucophaeus

 

atripennis

ludwigii

Cladogram based on a study by Eric Pasquet and colleagues published in 2007. [1]

The drongos are a family, Dicruridae, of passerine birds of the Old World tropics. The 31 species in the family are placed in a single genus, Dicrurus.

Contents

Drongos are mostly black or dark grey, short-legged birds, with an upright stance when perched. They have forked tails and some have elaborate tail decorations. They feed on insects and small birds, which they catch in flight or on the ground. Some species are accomplished mimics and have a variety of alarm calls, to which other birds and animals often respond. They are known to utter fake alarm calls that scare other animals off food, which the drongo then claims.

Taxonomy

The genus Dicrurus was introduced by French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot for the drongos in 1816. [2] The type species was subsequently designated as the balicassiao (Dicrurus balicassius) by English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1841. [3] [4] The name of the genus combines the Ancient Greek words dikros "forked" and oura "tail". [5] "Drongo" is originally from the indigenous language of Madagascar, where it refers to local species; it is now used for all members of the family. [6]

This family now includes only the genus Dicrurus, although Christidis and Boles (2007) expanded the family to include the subfamilies Rhipidurinae (Australasian fantails), Monarchinae (monarch and paradise flycatchers), and Grallininae (magpie larks). [7]

The family was formerly treated as having two genera, Chaetorhynchus and Dicrurus. The genus Chaetorhynchus contains a single species, the New Guinea-endemic C. papuensis . On the basis of both morphological and genetic differences, it is now placed with the fantails (Rhipiduridae) and renamed from the pygmy drongo to the drongo fantail. [8]

The genus Dicrurus contains 28 species: [9]

ImageCommon NameScientific nameDistribution
Square-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus ludwigii) (cropped).jpg Square-tailed drongo Dicrurus ludwigiisouthern Africa.
SharpesDrongo.jpg Sharpe's drongo Dicrurus sharpeisouthern South Sudan and western Kenya to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Nigeria
Dicrurus atripennis 111213.jpg Shining drongo Dicrurus atripennisCameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Fork-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis) 2.jpg Fork-tailed drongo Dicrurus adsimilisGabon, Congo Republic, DRC, Angola, northwestern Zambia, Namibia, Botswana and northwestern South Africa
Velvet-mantled Drongo from Canopy Walkway - Kakum NP - Ghana 14 S4E1498 (cropped).jpg Velvet-mantled drongo Dicrurus modestusNigeria and Cameroon to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola.
Grande Comore drongo Dicrurus fuscipennisComoros.
Dicrurus aldabranus 59442457 (cropped).jpg Aldabra drongo Dicrurus aldabranusSeychelles
Crested Drongo, Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar.jpg Crested drongo Dicrurus forficatusMadagascar and Comoros
Mayotte drongo Dicrurus waldeniiMayotte.
Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus (Vieillot, 1817) (7005202663).jpg Black drongo Dicrurus macrocercusIran through Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka east to southern China and Indonesia and accidental visitor of Japan
Ashy drongo ,Dicrurus leucophaeus.jpg Ashy drongo Dicrurus leucophaeuseastern Afghanistan east to southern China, Ryukyu Islands in southern Japan (particularly Okinawa) and Indonesia.
Thimindu White bellied Drongo 1.jpg White-bellied drongo Dicrurus caerulescensIndia and Sri Lanka.
Crow-billed Drongo (Dicrurus annectans) - Flickr - Lip Kee (cropped).jpg Crow-billed drongo Dicrurus annectensBangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Bronzed Drongo I IMG 1677.jpg Bronzed drongo Dicrurus aeneuswestern Uttaranchal eastwards into Indochina and Hainan, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and northern Borneo
Dicrurus remifer 180352515.jpg Lesser racket-tailed drongo Dicrurus remiferBangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Dicrurus balicassius.jpg Balicassiao Dicrurus balicassiusPhilippines.
Short-tailed drongo Dicrurus striatusPhilippines.
Dicrurus hottentottus-20030823.jpg Hair-crested drongo Dicrurus hottentottusBangladesh, India, and Bhutan through Indochina to China, Indonesia, and Brunei.
Tablas drongo Dicrurus menageiPhilippines.
Palawan drongo Dicrurus palawanensisPalawan.
Sumatran drongo Dicrurus sumatranusSumatra in Indonesia.
Wallacean Drongo (Dicrurus densus) (8074119894) (cropped).jpg Wallacean drongo Dicrurus densusIndonesia and East Timor.
Dicrurus montanus 64408649.jpg Sulawesi drongo Dicrurus montanusSulawesi in Indonesia.
Dicrurus bracteatus - Wonga.jpg Spangled drongo Dicrurus bracteatusAustralia, New Guinea, Indonesia
Paradise drongo Dicrurus megarhynchusNew Ireland in the Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea.
Andaman Drongo (Dicrurus andamanensis) in tree (cropped).jpg Andaman drongo Dicrurus andamanensisAndaman Islands
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo Dicrurus paradiseus (Linnaeus, 1766) (16169002507).jpg Greater racket-tailed drongo Dicrurus paradiseusIndia to Borneo and Java
Sri Lanka drongo - Sri Lanka - 01.jpg Sri Lanka drongo Dicrurus lophorinusSri Lanka.

The family Dicruridae is most likely of Indo-Malayan origin, with a colonization of Africa about 15 million years ago (Mya). Dispersal across the Wallace Line into Australasia is estimated to have been more recent, around 6 Mya. [1]

Characteristics

Bronzed drongo (Dicrurus aeneus) in India Bronzed Drongo I IMG 1682.jpg
Bronzed drongo (Dicrurus aeneus) in India

These insectivorous birds are usually found in open forests or bush. Most are black or dark grey in colour, sometimes with metallic tints. They have long, forked tails; some Asian species have elaborate tail decorations. They have short legs and sit very upright whilst perched, like a shrike. They flycatch or take prey from the ground. Some drongos, especially the greater racket-tailed drongo, are noted for their ability to mimic other birds and even mammals.

Two to four eggs are laid in a nest high in a tree. Despite their small size, they are aggressive and fearless, and will attack much larger species if their nests or young are threatened.

Several species of animals and birds respond to drongos' alarm calls, which often warn of the presence of a predator. Fork-tailed drongos in the Kalahari desert use alarm calls in the absence of a predator to cause animals to flee and abandon food, which they eat, getting up to 23% of their food this way. They not only use their own alarm calls, but also imitate those of many species, either their victim's or that of another species to which the victim responds. If the call of one species is not effective, perhaps because of habituation, the drongo may try another; 51 different calls are known to be imitated. In one test on pied babblers, the babbler ignored an alarm call repeated three times when no danger was present, but continued to respond to different calls. Researchers have considered the possibility that these drongos possess theory of mind, not fully shown in any animal other than humans. [10] [11] [12]

Insult

The word "drongo" is used in Australian English as a mild form of insult meaning "idiot" or "stupid fellow". This usage derives from an Australian racehorse of the same name (apparently after the spangled drongo, D. bracteatus) in the 1920s that never won despite many places. The word also has been frequently used among friends and can be used in a casual or serious tone. [13] [14] [15] [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willie wagtail</span> Species of bird

The willie wagtail, scientific name Rhipidura leucophrys, is a passerine bird native to Australia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Bismarck Archipelago, and Eastern Indonesia. It is a common and familiar bird throughout much of its range, living in most habitats apart from thick forest. Measuring 19–21.5 cm in length, the willie wagtail is contrastingly coloured with almost entirely black upperparts and white underparts; the male and female have similar plumage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fork-tailed drongo</span> Species of bird

The fork-tailed drongo, also called the common drongo or African drongo, is a small bird found from the Sahel to South Africa that lives in wooded habitats, particularly woodlands and savannas. They are part of the family Dicruridae and have four recognized subspecies, D. a adsimilis, D. a. apivorus, D. a. fugax and D. a. jubaensis. Like other drongos, the fork-tailed is mostly insectivorous; its diet mainly consists of butterflies, termites, and grasshoppers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Square-tailed drongo</span> Species of bird

The square-tailed drongo, formerly the common square-tailed drongo, is a passerine bird in the family Dicruridae. It is a common resident breeder in parts of southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black drongo</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashy drongo</span> Species of bird

The ashy drongo is a species of bird in the drongo family Dicruridae. It is found widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia with several populations that vary in the shade of grey, migration patterns and in the size or presence of white patches around the eye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-bellied drongo</span> Species of bird

The white-bellied drongo is a species of drongo found across the Indian Subcontinent. Like other members of the family Dicruridae, they are insectivorous and mainly black in colour, but with a white belly and vent. Young birds are, however, all black and may be confused with the black drongo, which is smaller and more compact in appearance. The subspecies found in Sri Lanka has white restricted to the vent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater racket-tailed drongo</span> Medium sized Asian bird with elongated tail feathers

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 the flock and another idea is that vocal mimicry helps them in diverting the attention of smaller birds to aid their piracy. They are diurnal but are active well before dawn and late at dusk. Owing to their widespread distribution and distinctive regional variation, they have become iconic examples of speciation by isolation and genetic drift.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hair-crested drongo</span> Species of bird

The hair-crested drongo is an Asian bird of the family Dicruridae. This species was formerly considered conspecific with Dicrurus bracteatus, for which the name "spangled drongo" – formerly used for both – is now usually reserved. Some authorities include the Sumatran drongo in D. hottentottus as subspecies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spangled drongo</span> Species of bird

The spangled drongo is a bird of the family Dicruridae. It is the only drongo to be found in Australia, where it can be recognised by its black, iridescent plumage and its characteristic forked tail. It feeds on insects and small vertebrates. It has complex and varied calls and is a mimic of the sounds it hears. It arrives in Queensland in late spring and breeds high in an isolated tree, producing three to five young each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drongo fantail</span> Species of bird

The drongo fantail, formerly known as the pygmy drongo, is a species of passerine bird endemic to the island of New Guinea. It is the only species in the genus Chaetorhynchus. The species was long placed within the drongo family Dicruridae, but it differs from others in that family in having twelve rectrices instead of ten. Molecular analysis also supports moving the species out from the drongo family, instead placing it as a sister species to the silktail of Fiji, and both those species in the fantail family Rhipiduridae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aldabra drongo</span> Species of bird

The Aldabra drongo is a species of bird in the drongo family Dicruridae. It is endemic to Seychelles, where it occurs only on the island of Aldabra. It has a small population of only around 1000 birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andaman drongo</span> Species of bird

The Andaman drongo is a species of bird in the family Dicruridae. The species is endemic to the Andaman Islands of the Indian Ocean. There are two subspecies, the nominate race being found across the main islands of the archipelago, and the race dicruriformis occurring on Great Coco Island and Table Island in the north of the chain

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crow-billed drongo</span> Species of bird

The crow-billed drongo is a species of bird in the family Dicruridae. It is native to moist tropical forests of southeastern Asia where its range extends from India to the Philippines and Indonesia. It is a completely black bird with a shallowly forked tail and is similar in appearance to the black drongo. It breeds between April and June, the cup-shaped nest being built in the fork of a branch by both birds, the female afterwards incubating the eggs. It is a common bird and the IUCN has listed it as "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crested drongo</span> Species of bird

The crested drongo is a passerine bird in the family Dicruridae. It is black with a bluish-green sheen, a distinctive crest on the forehead and a forked tail. There are two subspecies; D. f. forficatus is endemic to Madagascar and D. f. potior, which is larger, is found on the Comoro Islands. Its habitat is lowland forests, both dry and humid, and open savannah country. It is a common bird and the IUCN has listed it as "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser racket-tailed drongo</span> Species of bird

The lesser racket-tailed drongo is a species of bird in the family Dicruridae. It is found in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia.

<i>Grallina</i> Genus of birds

Grallina is a genus of passerine bird native to Australia and New Guinea. It is a member of a group of birds termed monarch flycatchers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azure-crested flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The azure-crested flycatcher or the blue-crested flycatcher, is a species of bird in the monarch flycatcher family Monarchidae. It is endemic to Fiji, where it is found on Taveuni.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lanka drongo</span> Species of bird

The Sri Lanka drongo or Ceylon crested drongo, is a species of bird in the family Dicruridae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. It was previously considered a subspecies of the greater racket-tailed drongo. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland and montane forests.

References

  1. 1 2 Pasquet, Eric; Pons, Jean-Marc; Fuchs, Jerome; Cruaud, Corinne; Bretagnolle, Vincent (2007). "Evolutionary history and biogeography of the drongos (Dicruridae), a tropical Old World clade of corvoid passerines". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 45 (1): 158–167. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.03.010. PMID   17468015.
  2. Vieillot, Louis Pierre (1816). Analyse d'Une Nouvelle Ornithologie Élémentaire (in French). Paris: Deterville/self. p. 41.
  3. Gray (1841). A List of the Genera of Birds : with their Synonyma and an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus (2nd ed.). London: R. and J.E. Taylor. p. 47.
  4. Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1962). Check-list of birds of the world. Vol. 15. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 138.
  5. Jobling, J.A. (2018). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  6. Lindsey, Terence (1991). Forshaw, Joseph (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds. London: Merehurst Press. pp. 223–224. ISBN   1-85391-186-0.
  7. Christidis, Les; Walter Boles (2008) Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Csiro Publishing, Australia. p. 174
  8. Irested, Martin; Fuchs, J; Jønsson, KA; Ohlson, JI; Pasquet, E; Ericson, Per G.P. (2009). "The systematic affinity of the enigmatic Lamprolia victoriae (Aves: Passeriformes)—An example of avian dispersal between New Guinea and Fiji over Miocene intermittent land bridges?" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 48 (3): 1218–1222. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.05.038. PMID   18620871.
  9. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2018). "Orioles, drongos, fantails". World Bird List Version 8.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  10. Flower, T.P. (2014). "Deception by flexible alarm mimicry in an African bird". Science. 344 (6183): 513–516. Bibcode:2014Sci...344..513F. doi:10.1126/science.1249723. PMID   24786078.
  11. National Geographic: African Bird Shouts False Alarms to Deceive and Steal, Study Shows Drongos in the Kalahari are masters of deception, 1 May 2014
  12. Flower, T. (2010). "Fork-tailed drongos use deceptive mimicked alarm calls to steal food". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 278 (1711): 1548–1555. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2010.1932 . PMC   3081750 . PMID   21047861.
  13. Green, Jonathon (2005). Cassell's Dictionary of Slang. London, UK: Orion Publishing Group. p. 450. ISBN   978-0-304-36636-1.
  14. Wannan, Bill (1979) [1970]. "Drongo". Australian Folklore. Lansdowne Press. p. 200. ISBN   0-7018-1309-1.
  15. "Drongo". Oxford Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on February 8, 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  16. "Career of Drongo". The News (Adelaide) . Vol. IV, no. 568. South Australia. 20 May 1925. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2018 via National Library of Australia.

Further reading