Sri Lanka Drongo
Dicrurus lophorinus
Large, upright, blackish bird with a long, deeply-forked tail and tuft of feathers on the forehead. Typically found in pairs, often in mixed flocks, within the understory of humid forests in the lowlands and foothills of Sri Lanka’s Wet Zone. Lacks rackets, unlike similar Greater Racket-tailed Drongo. Tuft of feathers above the bill is absent in similar Ashy and Black Drongos. Tail shape an important feature: deeply-forked with curled up tips to the outer tail feathers unlike other drongos. Very vocal, with varied repertoire, including a repetitive “whichitu-whichitu-whichitu”, and metallic “kerplee”, as well as complex whistles, bell-like calls, and scratchy notes.
Identification
Large, upright, blackish bird with a long, deeply-forked tail and tuft of feathers on the forehead. Typically found in pairs, often in mixed flocks, within the understory of humid forests in the lowlands and foothills of Sri Lanka’s Wet Zone. Lacks rackets, unlike similar Greater Racket-tailed Drongo. Tuft of feathers above the bill is absent in similar Ashy and Black Drongos. Tail shape an important feature: deeply-forked with curled up tips to the outer tail feathers unlike other drongos. Very vocal, with varied repertoire, including a repetitive “whichitu-whichitu-whichitu”, and metallic “kerplee”, as well as complex whistles, bell-like calls, and scratchy notes.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Dicrurus lophorinus
- Authority
- Vieillot, 1817
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Dicruridae
- Genus
- Dicrurus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Schoeniparus variegaticeps
Small white-faced bird with a blotchy black cheek patch, a golden forehead, and black-and-yellow paneling on the wings. Passingly similar to Rufous-winged Fulvetta, which has a different facial pattern, a rich brick-red crown, and orange (not black-and-white) wing panels. Found at low and middle levels in hill and montane forest. Forages in pairs, agilely fluttering around and climbing up and down trunks and branches. Vocalizations poorly known and infrequently heard; chatters when alarmed.
Green-and-black Fruiteater
Pipreola riefferii
Chunky, short-tailed, flat-headed bird patterned in green and black. Male has black head and breast, yellow belly with messy green streaks, and green upperparts. Female is almost all green. On both sexes, note red bill and legs and dark eye. Fairly common in forested habitats in the subtropical and temperate zone. Perches quietly in the middle levels of the forest, often following a mixed-species flock. Usually in pairs, but several can gather around a fruiting tree. Listen for super-high-pitched song, a series of tinkling notes sometimes followed by a long, thin “seeee.”
White-browed Woodswallow
Artamus superciliosus
Chunky bird with broad, triangular wings and short, decurved bill. Male dark gray above, dark orange-brown below, with dark gray face and throat and white eyebrow. Female similar in pattern but less richly colored. Whitish underwings contrast powerfully with dark underparts in flight. Often forages very high up in enormous flocks, sometimes mixed in with Masked Woodswallows.
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