drongo

The drongos are a family, Dicruridae, of passerine birds of the Old World tropics. The 31 species in the family are placed in a single genus, Dicrurus. Drongos are mostly black or dark grey, short-legged birds, with an upright stance when perched. They have forked tails and some have elaborate tail decorations. They feed on insects and small birds, which they catch in flight or on the ground. Some species are accomplished mimics and have a variety of alarm calls, to which other birds and animals often respond. They are known to utter fake alarm calls that scare other animals off food, which the drongo then claims. Taxonomy The genus Dicrurus was introduced by French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot for the drongos in 1816. The type species was subsequently designated as the balicassiao (Dicrurus balicassius) by English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1841. The name of the genus combines the Ancient Greek words dikros "forked" and oura "tail". "Drongo" is originally from the indigenous language of Madagascar, where it refers to local species; it is now used for all members of the family. This family now includes only the genus Dicrurus, although Christidis and Boles (2007) expanded the family to include the subfamilies Rhipidurinae (Australasian fantails), Monarchinae (monarch and paradise flycatchers), and Grallininae (magpie larks).