Ashy Drongo

The ashy drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus) is a slender, long-tailed drongo about 26–29 cm long and roughly 38–42 g in weight. Plumage varies unusually strongly across its many subspecies, from pale ash-grey to dark slate-grey. Adults have red to reddish-brown eyes and a deeply forked tail.

Indian birds can be very dark and resemble black drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus). Ashy drongo is generally slimmer, with a proportionally longer tail and a greyer tone, and it lacks the small white patch at the base of the bill that is often visible on black drongo. Elsewhere in Asia some subspecies are much paler and may show conspicuous white around the face.

Ashy drongos occupy a broad range of wooded habitats, including evergreen and deciduous forest, secondary woodland, forest edge, plantations, wooded farmland and gardens. They occur from lowlands into montane forest and can reach around 3,000 m in the Himalayas.

Compared with black drongo, the species is more closely associated with trees and forest structure. Migrating and wintering birds can nevertheless appear in fairly open wooded country, especially where exposed perches provide good access to flying insects.

Flying insects and other arthropods make up most of the diet. Birds watch from an exposed branch and launch into agile aerial sallies after moths, beetles, bees, dragonflies and other prey, often returning to the same perch afterwards.

Prey is also taken from foliage and branches, and small vertebrates may occasionally be captured. Fruit is eaten less regularly. The species’ flexible feeding behaviour allows it to exploit both forest interiors and open edges where aerial insects are abundant.

Ashy drongos are usually encountered alone or in pairs and are active, conspicuous perch-hunters. They frequently sit upright on an exposed branch, wire or treetop, repeatedly launching after prey before returning to a prominent perch. They can also chase other birds away from favoured feeding areas.

The species is highly vocal, with a varied mixture of harsh and more musical calls. A note published in 1997 documented imitation of the whistles of common iora (Aegithina tiphia). Mobbing is also well developed: a 2004 study in western Java found ashy and black drongos mobbing both black eagles and Javan hawk-eagles, but the seasonal pattern differed between the two predators rather than simply increasing during breeding in every case.

Movement differs markedly among populations. In the Indian subcontinent, ashy drongos breed in the Himalayas and in parts of central India during summer; many then move to lower elevations and farther south during winter. Within India the species is therefore both resident in some areas and seasonally migratory in others.

Northern populations from China and other parts of eastern Asia are also migratory and winter farther south in India and Southeast Asia, while several tropical island populations are resident. The result is a complex seasonal distribution rather than one uniform migration route.

Breeding timing varies across the wide range. In the Himalayas it is concentrated mainly in May–June, while other Asian populations breed at somewhat different times. The pair builds a small, shallow cup from fine twigs, grasses and plant fibres, usually attached to a fork on an exposed tree branch.

Clutches are usually small, commonly around two to four eggs. Both adults participate in nesting and care of the young. Around an active nest they can become highly aggressive, repeatedly calling and mobbing crows, raptors and other potential threats much larger than themselves. Incubation and fledging periods are not well documented consistently across the many subspecies and regions.

The ashy drongo is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List and has a very large Asian range.

State of India’s Birds 2025 classifies it as Low Priority in India. The updated national estimates are close to stable: about −5.98% over the long term and +0.33% per year recently, with uncertainty around both estimates spanning decline and increase. The species is classified as a within-India migrant and is associated mainly with forest and plantation habitats.