Sumatran Drongo - BirdForum Opus

Photo by James Eaton
Bukit Tapan, Sumatra, Indonesia, August 2011

Dicrurus sumatranus

Identification

29cm. A distinctive drongo:

• Tail nearly square-ended, outer rectrices straight or very slightly curving outwards
• Rather short bill
• Black plumage with deep ultramarine-blue gloss
• Small feathers at base of bill cover about two-third of lenght of bill
• Exaggerated rictal bristles, projecting nearly as far as tip of bill
• Red eye

Sexes similar, females are smaller. Juveniles undescribed.

Distribution

Endemic to humid lowlands of Sumatra (Indonesia).
Widespread and locally common.

Taxonomy

Has been considered conspecific with Hair-crested Drongo and belongs to a superspecies with Hair-crested Drongo, Sulawesi Drongo, Wallacean Drongo, Balicassiao, Spangled Drongo and Ribbon-tailed Drongo.

Subspecies

This is a monotypic species[1].

The subspecies D. s. viridinitens from Mentawi Islands which was formerly included here is now considered a subspecies of Hair-crested Drongo.

Habitat

Submontane and lower montane primary forest or tall secondary forest. Occurs up to 800m, possibly up to 1500m.

Behaviour

Feeds on insects. Sallies from a perch and hawks its prey in air. Often seen on vertical trunk with head up and tail pressed against bark like a woodpecker. Then it ascends in flitting hops to take ants.
Commonly in mixed-species flocks.
Few data about breeding. One bird was seen in early April feeding two nestling.
A resident species.

References

1. 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/
2. 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/
3. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Sumatran Drongo. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 December 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Sumatran_Drongo

External Links

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