Crow-billed drongo

Crow-billed drongo
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Dicruridae
Genus: Dicrurus
Species:
D. annectens
Binomial name
Dicrurus annectens
(Hodgson, 1836)

The crow-billed drongo (Dicrurus annectens) is a species of bird in the family Dicruridae. It is native to moist tropical forests of southeastern Asia where its range extends from India to the Philippines and Indonesia. It is a completely black bird with a shallowly forked tail and is similar in appearance to the black drongo. It breeds between April and June, the cup-shaped nest being built in the fork of a branch by both birds, the female afterwards incubating the eggs. It is a common bird and the IUCN has listed it as "least concern".

Taxonomy

The crow-billed drongo was originally described by the English naturalist Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1836 and given the binomial name Bhuchanga annectans.[2][3] The specific epithet is a misspelling of the Latin word annectens meaning "connecting".[4] This error has been corrected following the rules of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature to give the current scientific name Dicrurus annectens.[5][6] The present genus Dicrurus had been introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816.[7][8]

Description

This bird, which is similar to the black drongo, is jet-black in color and has a stout bill. It has a forked tail.[9]

Distribution and Habitat

It is found in: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.[1]

Behavior

This species inhabits dense evergreen forests and moist-deciduous forests. The nesting season is from April to June. The nest is usually a small cup made of grass that is held together by cobwebs. The nests can be found in the fork of a slender branch. The female incubates the eggs. However, both the male and female birds build the nest.[9]

Diet and Feeding

This species eats insects and other small animals.[9]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dicrurus annectens.
  1. ^ a b BirdLife International (2017). "Dicrurus annectens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22706970A111051553. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22706970A111051553.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Hodgson, Brian Houghton (1836). "On some new species of the Edolian and Ceblepyrine subfamilies of the Laniidae of Nepal". India Review and Journal of Foreign Science and the Arts. 1 (8): 324–329 [326].
  3. ^ Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1962). Check-list of birds of the world. Vol. 15. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 146.
  4. ^ Jobling, J.A. (2017). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  5. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2017). "Orioles, drongos & fantails". World Bird List Version 8.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  6. ^ Dickinson, E.C.; Christidis, L., eds. (2014). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2: Passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-9568611-2-2.
  7. ^ Vieillot, Louis Pierre (1816). Analyse d'Une Nouvelle Ornithologie Analyse d'une Nouvelle Ornithologie Elementaire (in French). Paris: Deterville/self. p. 41.
  8. ^ Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1962). Check-list of birds of the world. Vol. 15. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 138.
  9. ^ a b c Ali, Salim (1996). The Book of Indian Birds. India: Oxford University Press. p. 228.


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