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| Dicrurus adsimilis Bechstein, 1794 |
The Fork-tailed Drongo, Dicrurus adsimilis, also called the Common Drongo, African Drongo or Savanna Drongo, is a drongo, a type of small passerine bird of the Old World tropics. Johann Matthäus Bechstein ( July 11, 1757 - February 23, 1822) was a German Naturalist, Forester, Ornithologist The drongos are a family of small Passerine Birds of the Old World tropics Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. 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. The drongos are a family of small Passerine Birds of the Old World tropics Australasia is a Region of Oceania: New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and neighbouring Islands in the Pacific Fantails are small Insectivorous Birds of southern Asia and Australasia belonging to the Genus Rhipidura The monarch flycatchers, Monarchidae, are a family of Birds Well-known forms included here are boatbills monarch flycatchers paradise-flycatchers and the Magpie-lark
The Fork-tailed Drongo is a common and widespread resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara. The Sahara (الصحراء الكبرى aṣ-ṣaḥrā´ al-kubra, "The Great Desert" is the world's largest hot Desert and the world's second largest These insect-eating birds are usually found in open forests or bush. Insects ( Class Insecta) are a major group of Arthropods and the most diverse group of Animals on the Earth with over a million described Two to four eggs are laid in a cup nest in a fork high in a tree. In most Birds and Reptiles an egg ( Latin ovum) is the Zygote, resulting from Fertilization of the Ovum.
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. Birds of prey are Birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing using their keen senses especially vision
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. Shrikes are Passerine Birds of the family Laniidae Most shrike species occur in Eurasia and Africa, but two breed in North America It flycatches or take prey from the ground and is attracted to bush fires.
The call is a metallic strink-strink.
The subspecies D. a. modestus (Príncipe) together with D. Príncipe is the smaller of the two major islands of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa a. coracinus and D. a. atactus (Bioko and mainland west and central Africa from Guinea east to western Kenya and south to Angola) is sometimes split as a separate species, the Príncipe Drongo or Velvet-mantled Drongo D. Bioko (spelled also Bioco) is an island off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea, part of Equatorial Guinea. Guinea, officially Republic of Guinea (pronounced /ˈgɪni/ République de Guinée is a country in West Africa, formerly known as French Guinea The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (República de Angola Pronounced ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈgɔlɐ Repubilika ya Ngola is a country in south-central modestus, (Hartlaub, 1849). Karel Johan Gustav Hartlaub ( November 8, 1814 - November 29, 1900) was a German Physician and Zoologist. Sometimes this species is split further into Príncipe Drongo D. modestus and Velvet-mantled Drongo D. coracinus (including atactus).
References
- BirdLife International (2006). Dicrurus adsimilis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List) created in 1963 is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
- African Bird Club (2006) ABC African Checklist: Passerines. Accessed 16/01/08.
- Birds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ISBN 1-873403-32-1
- Sinclair, Ian & Ryan, Peter (2003) Birds of Africa south of the Sahara, Struik, Cape Town.
External links
- fotocommunity.de A very nice photo of a Fork-tailed Drongo
- Fork-tailed Drongo videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Photo of a fork tailed drongo taking off from a branch
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