Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

Khoh Phangan, Thailand

Greater racket-tailed drongos are common residents in humid conditions across India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka , Indonesia, Thailand, China and many other parts of  East and South East Asia.

Habitat

Their preferred habitat is broadleaf deciduous or evergreen forest at a variety of elevations but they are also found in mangroves, rubber plantations, gardens, villages and suburbs.

Diet

Racket tailed drongo are omnivores, combining a diet of insects with fruit and nectar. 

Breeding

As well as posturing on their branch perches, courtship displays may include dropping objects and catching them in mid-air.  Both  males and  females contribute to construction of cup nests in the forks of trees made from leaves and roots held together with cobwebs and finished with lichens for camouflage. Three to four cream eggs blotched with reddish brown are incubated by both parents who also share the raising of the chicks.  They protect their nests aggessively attacking birds larger than themselves. I observed a pair on Koh Chang harrassing a great hornbill,  flying after it for a considerale distance and biting its tail.

Wildfile Specials

• Greater racket-tailed drongos are great imitators of other birds' calls which may encourage mixed species foraging.
• Racket-tailed drongos are kleptoparasites, stealing the insect prey of other species
• The greater racket-tailed drongo's frequent use of a whistle-like note has earned it the name "Kothwai" in India which means policeman or guard as they use a whistle that produces a similar sound.