Alternative names: Forest Drongo; Principe Drongo (modestus)
Includes Fanti Drongo
- Dicrurus modestus
Identification
24–28 cm. (9½-11in)
- Deep velvety black head and underparts (unglossed except slight greenish-blue sheen on forehead and crown)
- Black mantle and back with faint violet-blue reflections, usually not much visible in field
- Blackish-brown wing with moderate gloss (looking brighter than rest of plumage)
- Long, forked tail
- Deep red eye
- Strong, hook-tipped black bill
Sexes similar, females slightly smaller. Juveniles have a pale barring on central belly and undertail-coverts and a brown eye.
Variation
Western birds, formerly recognized as Fanti Drongo, has slight violet-blue gloss on the crown and mantle, whereas the other forms appear unglossed black on the mantle and underparts, contrasting more strongly with glossy feathers of the crown and wings. Differs from Square-tailed Drongo and Shining Drongo by larger size, deeply forked tail and less gloss. Differs from Fork-tailed Drongo by darker underside of flight-feathers and less gloss on back and underparts.
Distribution
Africa: Sierra Leone and southern Guinea east to western Kenya, south to northwestern Angola and central Democratic Republic of the Congo. Also in islands of Príncipe and Bioko (Gulf of Guinea).
Taxonomy
Sometimes considered conspecific with Fork-tailed Drongo. Subspecies D. m. atactus was formerly split as a full species, Fanti Drongo.
Subspecies
Clements recognizes these subspecies[1]:
- D. m. atactus:
- Sierra Leone and southern Guinea east to southwestern Nigeria
- D. m. modestus:
- D. m. coracinus:
- Bioko and southern Nigeria east to southwestern Central African Republic, extreme southwestern South Sudan, and western Kenya, south to Gabon, central Democratic Republic of the Congo, and northwestern Angola.
Each of the three subspecies is considered a field identifiable group by some sources.
Habitat
Forest glades and clearings. Also in plantations and parks.
Occupies high canopy in mature and old secondary forest where co-existing with Fork-tailed Drongo (which is found in understorey then).
Behaviour
Aggressively territorial, harassing and chasing any other animal coming to close to nest.
Diet
Feeds on insects which are caught in the air. Often hunts at dusk.
Breeding
The nest is a shallow cup made of twigs and rootlets and placed in a tree. Lays up to 3 eggs.
Movements
A resident species.
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2024. IOC World Bird List (v 14.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.14.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- Kirwan, G. M., G. Rocamora, and D. Yeatman-Berthelot (2023). Velvet-mantled Drongo (Dicrurus modestus), version 2.0. In Birds of the World (N. D. Sly, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.vemdro6.02
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Velvet-mantled Drongo. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 November 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Velvet-mantled_Drongo
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
