© Marco Valentini
© David Clark
© Howard Laidlaw

Sri Lanka Drongo Dicrurus lophorinus

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Identification

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Large, upright, blackish bird with a long, deeply-forked tail and tuft of feathers on the forehead. Typically found in pairs, often in mixed flocks, within the understory of humid forests in the lowlands and foothills of Sri Lanka’s Wet Zone. Lacks rackets, unlike similar Greater Racket-tailed Drongo. Tuft of feathers above the bill is absent in similar Ashy and Black Drongos. Tail shape an important feature: deeply-forked with curled up tips to the outer tail feathers unlike other drongos. Very vocal, with varied repertoire, including a repetitive “whichitu-whichitu-whichitu”, and metallic “kerplee”, as well as complex whistles, bell-like calls, and scratchy notes.

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