Hair-crested Drongo

Dicrurus hottentottus (Linnaeus, 1766)

≈30 cmLength79 gWeight

It is black overall, with a long, square-ended tail and outer tail feathers that curl upward.

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

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Black overall with a velvety sheen
Tail rectangular, with the edges of the outer tail feathers curled upward
Crest fine and hair-like
Feathers have iridescent spangles

Voice

During courtship, a loud, coarse “tchip” is followed by a series of highly varied bell-like notes.

Where and when it's recorded

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

Hair-crested Drongo has been recorded at 958 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 16 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Wildlife Institute of IndiaIndia2,700 records
Kinabalu Park – HQ areaMalaysia1,393 records
Forest Research Institute (FRI), New Forest CampusIndia1,227 records

More places

Curzon Road, Dalanwala, DehradunIndia1,096 records
Kaeng Krachan NPThailand962 records
Tangkoko Batuangus NR – Forest andIndonesia890 records
GKVK CampusIndia881 records
Kaeng Krachan NP – km 9 vicinityThailand865 records
Mahananda WLS – Rongtong and Shivakhola ForestIndia844 records
Kaeng Krachan NP – Baan Maka Nature LodgeThailand755 records

Countries and regions with the most records

India Thailand China Malaysia Philippines Nepal Cambodia Indonesia

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 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.

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