Hair-crested Drongo
Dicrurus hottentottus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyDicruridae (Drongos)
- GenusDicrurus (Drongos)
- SpeciesDicrurus hottentottus (Hair-crested Drongo)
About the Hair-crested Drongo
The hair-crested drongo (Dicrurus hottentottus) is an Asian bird of the family Dicruridae. This species was formerly considered conspecific with Dicrurus bracteatus, for which the name "spangled drongo" – formerly used for both – is now usually reserved. Some authorities include the Sumatran drongo (D. sumatranus) in D. hottentottus as subspecies.
It is native from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Bhutan through Indochina to China, Indonesia, and Brunei. Hair-crested drongos move in small flocks and are very noisy. The "spangled drongo", Dicrurus bracteatus, is native on the east coast of Australia and its name is a pejorative slang for a silly person. This may be due to its strange chattering and cackling.
In 1760, French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the hair-crested drongo in his Ornithologie based on a specimen that he mistakenly believed had been collected from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. He used the French name Le choucas du Cap de Bonne Espérance and the Latin Monedula Capitis Bonae Spei. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Tangkoko Nature Reserve
Sulawesi Drongo
Dicrurus montanus
Finch-billed Myna
Scissirostrum dubium
Black-naped Monarch
Hypothymis azurea
Sulawesi Babbler
Trichastoma celebense
White-necked Myna
Streptocitta albicollis
Grey-sided Flowerpecker
Dicaeum celebicum
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Passer montanus
Black-naped Oriole
Oriolus chinensis
Rusty-backed Thrush
Geokichla erythronota
Yellow-sided Flowerpecker
Dicaeum aureolimbatum
Chestnut Munia
Lonchura atricapilla
Sooty-headed Bulbul
Pycnonotus aurigaster
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Hair-crested Drongo in Tangkoko Nature Reserve?
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Hair-crested Drongo sighting in Tangkoko Nature Reserve, based on 681 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Hair-crested Drongo in Tangkoko Nature Reserve?
May has the highest sighting rate for Hair-crested Drongo in Tangkoko Nature Reserve in our monthly data.