Black Drongo

The black drongo is a small, all-black passerine with a distinctive forked tail, 28 cm long, and a common resident breeder in much of tropical southern Asia from southwest Iran through Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka east to southern China and Indonesia. It feeds on insects and is common in open farmland and light forest, perching conspicuously on bare perches or along power and telephone lines (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is known for aggression towards much larger birds such as crows and will dive-bomb any bird of prey in its territory, hence the informal name king crow. Smaller birds often nest near a nesting black drongo for protection. The Asian forms were once grouped with the African fork-tailed drongo. Nationally Least Concern (Sri Lanka National Red List 2012).