Dicrurus paradiseus
Silhouette: Rohit N · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
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 Minneriya National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 150th most-seen of the 155 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Racket-tailed Drongo in Minneriya National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
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.
35th of 35
Of the 35 parks where we can rate Greater Racket-tailed Drongo sightings, Minneriya National Park ranks 35th 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.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo is recorded against all the birds logged in Minneriya National Park (5 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.
