Tablas Drongo - BirdForum Opus

Dicrurus menagei

Identification

• Long hair-like feathers springing from forehead, extending over hindcrown and upper back
• Black plumage, brightly glossed metallic blue-green
• Numerous breast spangles and broad and very large, long and glossy neck hackles
• A very long, deeply forked tail with elongated outer rectrices curving widely outwards and slightly upwards
• Reddish-brown or dark brown eye

Sexes similar, females are duller. Juveniles are browner and less glossed.

Distribution

Endemic to Tablas (west-central Philippines)

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species.
It was formerly considered conspecific with Hair-crested Drongo or Spangled Drongo.

Habitat

Forest.

Behaviour

They move singly or in small flocks and are very noisy.
Feeds on insects and nectar. Also reported to hawk for lizards.
Very noisy and aggressive towards disturbance while breeding. The nest is a deep saucer made of grass, rootlets and tendrils of creepers.
Resident.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
2. Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2011. IOC World Bird Names (version 2.10). Available at 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. (2025) Tablas Drongo. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 6 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Tablas_Drongo

External Links

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