DRONGO

The 'drongos' are a subfamily of small passerine birds 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.
These insect-eating birds are found in usually open forests or bush. Most are black or dark grey in colour, sometimes with metallic tints. They have long forked tails, and 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.
Two to four eggs are laid in a nest high in a tree. These are aggressive and fearless birds, given their small size, and drongos will attack much larger species if their nest or young are threatened.

Contents

Species of Dicruriniae in taxonomic order

Trivia

External links

Species of Dicruriniae in taxonomic order

★ Papuan Drongo, ''Chaetorhynchus papuensis''

★ Square-tailed Drongo, ''Dicrurus ludwigii''

★ Shining Drongo, ''Dicrurus atripennis''

★ Fork-tailed Drongo, ''Dicrurus adsimilis''

★ Príncipe Drongo, ''Dicrurus modestus''

★ Aldabra Drongo, ''Dicrurus aldabranus''

★ Comoro Drongo, ''Dicrurus fuscipennis''

★ Crested Drongo, ''Dicrurus forficatus''

★ Mayotte Drongo, ''Dicrurus waldenii''

★ Black Drongo, ''Dicrurus macrocercus''

★ Ashy Drongo, ''Dicrurus leucophaeus''

★ White-bellied Drongo, ''Dicrurus caerulescens''

★ Crow-billed Drongo, ''Dicrurus annectans''

★ Bronzed Drongo, ''Dicrurus aeneus''

★ Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, ''Dicrurus remifer''

★ Hair-crested Drongo, ''Dicrurus hottentottus''

★ Balicassiao, ''Dicrurus balicassius''

★ Sulawesi Drongo, ''Dicrurus montanus''

★ Sumatran Drongo, ''Dicrurus sumatranus''

★ Wallacean Drongo, ''Dicrurus densus''

★ Ribbon-tailed Drongo, ''Dicrurus megarhynchus''

★ Spangled Drongo, ''Dicrurus bracteatus''

★ Andaman Drongo, ''Dicrurus andamanensis''

★ Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, ''Dicrurus paradiseus''

Trivia

★ In Australian slang, the word drongo is a synonym for a total loser or idiot. Like most Australian slang the meaning of the word changes with the way it's said.

★ In the Bush Dance sometimes called the drongo the person who misses out on a partner (musical chairs style} becomes 'the drongo' for the next time through the dance and is the butt of a gentle humorous use of the word - spill hot soup in a customer's lap and you may hear a distinctly vitriolic use!

★ The Drongo was a racehorse probably named after the bird. It raced in the 1920s and was deemed unlucky never to have come better than second in thirty-seven starts.

★ The term was used in the RAAF during World War II to describe raw recruits.

External links

★ Drongo videos on the Internet Bird Collection