The Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, found on the plantations of Orange County, Coorg, is a medium-sized Asian bird which is unique in that it possesses elongated outer tail feathers that make it prominent. Another distinguishing feature of this bird is the crest of curled feathers that start in front of its face above the beak.

These birds are conspicuous by their presence, often perching in the open on high and exposed branches, and attracting attention with a wide variety of loud calls that include perfect imitations of several other species of birds!

The species helps plantations by helping get rid of pests that are found there.

Perching in the Open: Two Greater Racket-tailed Drongos

While the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo is diurnal, it is active well before dawn and late at dusk. It is widely distributed and shows distinguishing regional variation in terms of its appearance. Its tail with twirled rackets is distinct, and in flight, can appear as if two huge bees were chasing a black bird!

While the species mainly feeds on insects, it also eats fruits and visits flowering trees in order to get nectar from them. During courtship, the bird’s play behaviour involves dropping an object and picking it in mid air!

Greater Racket-tailed Drongos are aggressive birds and sometimes mob birds larger than themselves, especially while nesting. In conclusion, when in Coorg, look out for the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo. With its prominent tail, it should be an easy bird to spot! The bird’s wide range of calls should be quite something to look forward to!

Conspicuous by its Presence: a Greater Racket-tailed Drongo.

Deepti Michelle John

Deepti, based out of Bangalore, works as Assistant Manager (Marketing) at Orange County Resorts. Possessing Master’s degrees in Psychology and Media and Communications from the London School of Economics, she enjoys spirituality, music, nature, and children.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 27th, 2011 at 11:04 AM and is filed under Birds, Plantation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.