Bronzed Drongo

Dicrurus aeneus Vieillot, 1817

≈20 cmLength26 gWeight

It is a small drongo with metallic gloss and a distinctly forked tail, and mimics other birds’ calls.

Busiest months: February · Most records: India, Thailand, China

Looks like Black Drongo

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Head, neck and breast shiny with strong metallic gloss
Lores velvety
Ear-coverts duller
Tail slender and distinctly forked

Male, female and young

Juvenile has white spots on the tips of the axillaries, and is duller and more rufous overall, with less metallic gloss.

Voice

An accomplished mimic of the calls of many other bird species.

Similar species

Black Drongo

Bronzed Drongo is slightly smaller than Black Drongo, with a stronger metallic gloss that appears as sparkling spots on the head, neck and breast.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: February · Most records: India, Thailand, China

Bronzed Drongo has been recorded at 547 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 12 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Kerala Agricultural UniversityIndia1,702 records
Cat Tien NPVietnam1,043 records
Mahidol University [Kanchanaburi Campus]Thailand1,009 records

More places

Kerala Agricultural University – Botanical GardenIndia969 records
Thattekkad Bird SanctuaryIndia865 records
Kaeng Krachan NPThailand829 records
SattalIndia791 records
Kerala Agricultural University – Krishi Vignyan KendraIndia753 records
KattampallyIndia717 records
Bondla Wildlife SanctuaryIndia712 records

Countries and regions with the most records

India Thailand China Malaysia Vietnam Nepal Bangladesh Cambodia

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The bronzed drongo (Dicrurus aeneus) is a small Indomalayan bird belonging to the drongo group. They are resident in the forests of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. They capture insects flying in the shade of the forest canopy by making aerial sallies from their perches.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Bronzed Drongo?

The Bronzed Drongo is about ≈20 cm long and weighs around 26 g.

Where does the Bronzed Drongo live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: Himalayas from northwestern India and Indian Peninsula to southern China, Taiwan (China), Vietnam, Sumatra and Borneo. It is most often recorded in India, Thailand and China.