Ashy Drongo
Dicrurus leucophaeus
A slim, medium-sized drongo with bright red eyes and gray plumage that is almost black in the western parts of its range and quite pale in the eastern parts of its range; eastern birds also often have an oval-shaped pale facial patch. It has a long slim tail with a deep fork. Common in wooded habitats where it sallies for insects and aggressively chases other birds that may compete for food or nectar. Most birds migrate south every winter. Similar to Black Drongo, but slimmer and usually in different habitats. Calls include harsh and sweet notes, and can mimic some bird species poorly.
Identification
The adult ashy drongo is mainly dark grey, and the tail is long and deeply forked, There are a number of subspecies varying in the shade of the grey plumage. Some subspecies have white markings on the head. Young birds are dull brownish grey.<p>Subspecies longicaudatus of India (which includes beavani of the Himalayas that winters on the peninsula, with one breeding population in central India that Vaurie separates as longicaudatus in the restricted sense) is very dark and almost like the black drongo although this bird is slimmer and has a somewhat longer and less-splayed tail. It is found in more tall forest habitat, has dark grey underside lacking the sheen of black drongo. The iris is crimson and there is no white rictal spot. Subspecies leucogenis and salangensis have a white eye-patch as do several of the island forms that breed further south. The calls are a little more nasal and twangy than that of the black drongo.
Taxonomy
Genus: Dicrurus; Family: Dicruridae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Dicrurus leucophaeus
- Authority
- Vieillot, 1817
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Dicruridae
- Genus
- Dicrurus
Range and habitat
The ashy drongo breeds in the hills of tropical southern Asia from eastern Afghanistan east to southern China, Ryukyu Islands in southern Japan (particularly Okinawa) and Indonesia. Many populations in the northern part of its range are migratory. Charles Vaurie described subspecies beavani (after Robert Cecil Beavan) as the population that breeds along the Himalayas that wintered in peninsular India. However, later workers include this as part of longicaudatus which also has a population that breeds in central India. In winter, the species is particularly fond of hill forests. E. C. Stuart Baker described stevensi which Vaurie considered as being either beavani or hopwoodi of the eastern Himalayas. To the east of the range of hopwoodi is mouhouti of Thailand and Myanmar. To the north of this range are leucogenis and salangensis (both migratory mainly to areas further south but also known from Nagaland) while bondi is found to the south. Along the southeast Asian island chain, there are number of insular populations including periophthalmus, ryukyuensis, batakensis, phaedrus, siberu and nigrescens. The nominate form is said to be found on Simalur, Java, Bali, Lombok, Palawan, and Balabac Islands.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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