I first encouter with Greater racket-tailed drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus) in niriyamangalam Kerala where we stayed in a homestay. Homestay was very nice for bird photography. This bird was the first one I saw and it was calling loudly outside. I saw almost 4-5 drongos seems to be very common at that place. Though due to low light in morning my photgraphs are lacking details but I am very happy to see those birds.

Identification Of the Greater racket-tailed drongo

One can easily identify the bird from it’s notched tail and long, racketlike outer tail streamers. It’s has glossy back and a crest on the forehead makes it one of the most distinguished drongo species.

Interesting Facts

While I was reading about this bird, I found that Kerala is home to the subspecies Dicrurus paradiseus paradiseus, while in central India, we usually see Dicrurus paradiseus rangoonensis. In the Himalayan foothills, the form present is Dicrurus paradiseus grandis. I found this a very interesting fact about the species and how its distribution varies across regions.

Next here is a image from ebird of the grandis ssp

Another fascinating fact is that the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo is an exceptional mimic, capable of perfectly imitating the calls and songs of a wide range of bird species from various families—including small raptors, koel (Eudynamys), Indian cuckoo (Cuculus micropterus), woodpeckers (Picidae), hornbills (Bucerotidae), pittas (Pittidae), babblers (Timaliidae), thrushes (Turdidae), Old World orioles (Oriolidae), and magpie-robins (Copsychus).