Crow-billed drongo

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".

Crow-billed drongo
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Dicruridae
Genus:	Dicrurus
Species:	D. annectens
Binomial name
Dicrurus annectens (Hodgson, 1836)

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]