Fork-tailed Drongo ( Dicrurus adsimilis, family: Dicruridae)

Kruger Park Fork Tailed DrongoThe Fork-tailed Drongo (Latin name Dicrurus adsimilis) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 541 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 684 also a picture of the Fork-tailed Drongo on page 705. The Fork-tailed Drongo belongs to the family of birds classified as Dicruridae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Fork-tailed Drongo is also known by these other names: Drongo, African Drongo, Black Drongo, Glossy-backed Drongo.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Fork-tailed Drongo is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

In terms of distribution of the Fork-tailed Drongo in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Fork-tailed Drongo : see above distribution map.

fork tailed drongo kruger national park birds The Fork-tailed Drongo.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

The Fork-tailed Drongo is a bird about the same size as a starling. The height of the Fork-tailed Drongo is about 25 cms and its weight is about 45 gms

You will find that the male Fork-tailed Drongo plumage and colours are different to that of the female Fork-tailed Drongo

  • Head is black.
  • Eye is red.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is black.
  • Back is black.
  • Legs are black.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Fork-tailed Drongo feeds in tree and shrub foliage mainly

Invertebrates

Fruits

Seeds

Aquatic life forms

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Fork-tailed Drongo is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Dicrurus adsimilis will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Fork-tailed Drongo is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are brown in colour and number between 2 to 3

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Fork-tailed Drongo are: woodlands

You will not see Fork-tailed Drongo in flocks. The bird prefers to act singly or in pairs.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Intengu

Zulu ... iNtengu

Afrikaans ...Mikstertbyvanger

German ... Trauerdrongo, Gabelschwanzdrongo

Portuguese ... Drongo-de-cauda-forcada

French ... Drongo brillant

Dutch ... Fluweeldrongo

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 541

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za