The Black Drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus) is a small passerine songbird.
The Black Drongo is all black with glossy feathers and a distinctive forked tail. It has a small white dot at the base of its mouth. It has dark-brown eyes.
It measures about 28 centimetres (11 inches) tall.
The Black Drongo is native to southern Asia, from Iran to India and from Sri Lanka to Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand. It is also found in Indonesia. It prefers tropical regions, light forests, and open areas.
It feeds on insects, such as grasshoppers, cicadas, termites, wasps, bees, ants, moths, beetles, and dragonflies.
Both the male and the female Black Drongo make a cup-shaped nest, which takes a week to build.
The female lays 3-4 eggs, which hatch after 14-15 days. Both the male and female sit on the eggs until they hatch. The chicks are born altricial – blind and featherless. Their eyes open after 8 days, and they leave the nest after 16-20 days. They gain the forked tail after about 21 days.
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM