Appearance
The male is mainly glossy black, although the wings are duller. It is large-headed and has the forked tail which gives the species its name. The female is similar but less glossy. The bill is black and heavy, and the eye is red.The Fork-tailed Drongo is 25 cm long. It has short legs and sits very upright whilst perched prominently, like a shrike. It flycatches or take prey from the ground and is attracted to bush fires.
Naming
The subspecies ''D. a. modestus'' together with ''D. a. coracinus'' and ''D. a. atactus'' is usually split as a separate species, the Velvet-mantled Drongo ''D. modestus'', .
Behavior
These are aggressive and fearless birds, given their small size, and will attack much larger species, including birds of prey if their nest or young are threatened.The call is a metallic ''strink-strink''. The Fork-tailed Drongo in Africa are capable of using deceptive mimicked alarm calls to steal food from meerkats.
Habitat
The Fork-tailed Drongo is a common and widespread resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara. These insect-eating birds are usually found in open forests or bush. Two to four eggs are laid in a cup nest in a fork high in a tree.References:
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