- Dicrurus ludwigii
Identification
Length 19 cm; mass 18-41 g. Adult: Glossy black; tail slightly forked; The bill is black with a hooked tip, the eyes deep red, and the legs and feet are black.
Similar species
Differs from Shining Drongo in significantly smaller size.
Fork-tailed Drongo and Velvet-mantled Drongo are also bigger and have much more deeply forked tails.
This species is also easily confused with the Southern Black Flycatcher as they are of a similar size. The Drongo, however, has a red (rather than brown)eye, a heavier bill, a different call, and is almost always found in the mid-stratum of forests (the Flycatcher prefers more open woodland).
Distribution
Eastern and Southern Africa
Taxonomy
Formerly included Sharpe's Drongo.
Subspecies
Clements recognizes these subspecies[1]:
- D. l. saturnus:
- Angola, Zambia and southern Democratic Republic of the Congo (Katanga)
- D. l. muenzneri:
- D. l. tephrogaster:
- Southern Malawi to Mozambique and eastern Zimbabwe
- D. l. ludwigi:
- eSwatini and southern Mozambique to eastern Cape Province.
Habitat
Forest and thicket.
Behaviour
Solitary or in pairs; noisy and aggressive, mobs raptors.
Diet
Hawks for insects from a perch in the mid-stratum; also feeds on nectar.
Breeding
Monogamous and territorial. The nest is a neat cup of fine plant material, lichen and spider web, built by both adults. Two to three eggs are laid September to January.
Vocalisation
The distinctive call includes twanging and whistled notes; also mimics other calls.
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/
- Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ & Ryan PG (eds) 2005. Robert's Birds of Southern Africa, 7th edition. John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town, South Africa. ISBN 0620340533
- Lepage D. 2008. Avibase. Search for "Dicrurus ludwigii" downloaded 6 May 2008.
- Sinclair I, Ryan P. 2003. Birds of Africa south of the Sahara. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0 620 20729 9
- Rocamora, G. & Yeatman-Berthelot, D. (2020). Square-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus ludwigii). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/60585 on 4 April 2020).
- Rocamora, G. and D. Yeatman-Berthelot (2020). Common Square-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus ludwigii), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.cstdro1.01
- Fuchs, J., M. Douno, R. C. K. Bowie, and J. Fjeldså (2018). Taxonomic revision of the Square-tailed Drongo species complex (Passeriformes: Dicruridae) with description of a new species from western Africa. Zootaxa 4438:105–127. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4438.1.4
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Square-tailed Drongo. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Square-tailed_Drongo
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
