Dicrurus paradiseus
Silhouette: Rohit N · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The greater racket-tailed drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus) is a medium-sized Asian bird which is distinctive in having elongated outer tail feathers with webbing restricted to the tips. They are placed along with other drongos in the family Dicruridae. They are conspicuous in the forest habitats often perching in the open and by attracting attention with a wide range of loud calls that include perfect imitations of many other birds. One hypothesis suggested is that these vocal imitations may help in the formation of mixed-species foraging flocks, a feature seen in forest bird communities where many insect feeders forage together. These drongos will sometimes steal insect prey caught or disturbed by other foragers in the flock and another idea is that vocal mimicry helps them in diverting the attention of smaller birds to aid their piracy. They are diurnal but are active well before dawn and late at dusk. Owing to their widespread distribution and distinctive regional variation, they have become iconic examples of speciation by isolation and genetic drift.
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the greater racket-tailed drongo in his... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thrissur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Kozhikode | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Kochi | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Kuala Lumpur | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 5 | Singapore | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 6 | Kollam | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Ponnani | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Bangkok | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 9 | Coimbatore | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Thiruvananthapuram | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Bird Paradise | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 3 | Rainforest Wild Asia | 🇸🇬 Singapore |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Racket-tailed Drongo sighting in Kinabalu Park on a given day, based on 102 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 108th most-seen of the 247 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May, July and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Racket-tailed Drongo in Kinabalu Park on a given day, against under 5% in June, August–September and November–April, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Greater Racket-tailed Drongo sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
32nd of 35
Of the 35 parks where we can rate Greater Racket-tailed Drongo sightings, Kinabalu Park ranks 32nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Periyar National Park (India, about 80%), Cat Tien National Park (Vietnam, about 70%) and Kanha National Park (India, about 70%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Dicrurus
The closest relatives of the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo that you can see in Kinabalu Park (genus Dicrurus, Drongos) are Ashy Drongo (about 50%) and Hair-crested Drongo (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo is recorded against all the birds logged in Kinabalu Park (102 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.
