Dicrurus leucophaeus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The ashy drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus) is a species of bird in the drongo family Dicruridae. It is found widely distributed across eastern and Southeast Asia, with several populations that vary in the shade of grey, migration patterns and in the size or presence of white patches around the eye.
The adult ashy drongo is mainly dark grey, and the tail is long and deeply forked, There are a number of subspecies varying in the shade of the grey plumage. Some subspecies have white markings on the head. Young birds are dull brownish grey.
Subspecies longicaudatus of India (which includes beavani of the Himalayas that winters on the peninsula, with one breeding population in central India that Vaurie separates as longicaudatus in the restricted sense) is very dark and almost like the black drongo although this bird is slimmer and has a somewhat longer and less-splayed tail. It is found in more tall forest habitat, has dark grey underside lacking the sheen of black drongo. The iris is crimson and there is no white rictal spot. Subspecies leucogenis and salangensis have a white eye-patch as do several of the island forms that breed further south. The calls are a little more... Wikipedia →
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 2 | Edward Youde Aviary | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Ashy Drongo sighting in Chitwan National Park on a given day, based on 193 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 122nd most-seen of the 367 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January to March
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Ashy Drongo in Chitwan National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August and October, the lowest months. Those are among Chitwan National Park's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain a month against 660 mm in July.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ashy Drongo sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
22nd of 33
Of the 33 parks where we can rate Ashy Drongo sightings, Chitwan National Park ranks 22nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Cat Tien National Park (Vietnam, about 70%), Kinabalu Park (Malaysia, about 50%) and Kaeng Krachan National Park (Thailand, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Dicrurus
The closest relatives of the Ashy Drongo that you can see in Chitwan National Park (genus Dicrurus, Drongos) are Black Drongo (about 70%), Hair-crested Drongo (about 20%) and Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ashy Drongo is recorded against all the birds logged in Chitwan National Park (193 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
