Dicrurus adsimilis
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The fork-tailed drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis), also called the common drongo or African drongo, is a small bird found from the Sahel to South Africa that lives in wooded habitats, particularly woodlands and savannas. Like other drongos, the fork-tailed is mostly insectivorous; its diet mainly consists of butterflies, termites, and grasshoppers.
Physically, this species is characterized with a narrow fork-shaped tail, red-brownish eyes, and black plumage throughout all of its body. These birds nest close to wetlands, forests, and farms and the breeding season varies depending the region. The female usually lays one to four eggs, which hatch in 15 to 18 days.
The fork-tailed drongo is known for its ability to deceptively mimic other bird alarm calls in order for a certain animal to flee the scene so it can steal their food (kleptoparasitism). They are also known for their aggressive and fearless behavior, often attacking and driving away much larger animals, including birds of prey, when their nest is in danger. Due to its extensive range and stable population, the fork-tailed drongo is classified by the IUCN Red List as a least-concern species. Wikipedia →
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Fork-tailed Drongo sighting in Cape Town on a given day, based on 289 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 62nd most-seen of the 196 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March to January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Fork-tailed Drongo in Cape Town on a given day, against under 5% in February, the lowest month.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Fork-tailed Drongo sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
11th of 16
Of the 16 cities where we can rate Fork-tailed Drongo sightings, Cape Town ranks 11th at about 10%. The best odds are in Mombasa (Kenya, about 70%), Abuja (Nigeria, about 60%) and Harare (Zimbabwe, about 50%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Fork-tailed Drongo that you can see in Cape Town (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Cape White-eye (about 70%), European Starling (about 70%) and Cape Sparrow (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Fork-tailed Drongo is recorded against all the birds logged in Cape Town (289 verified sightings), 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.
