Drongo ! Drongos ! - Naughty By Nature

Pic 1 = Black Drongo : Tadoba National Park | Pics 2 - 6 = Andaman Drongo : South Andaman | Pics 7 - 9 = Racket Tailed Drongo : South Andaman | Pics 10 - 12 = Ashy Drongo : South Andaman

They lie, cheat, steal but will never be ignored or mistaken for even similar looking birds because of their actions. But, let’s get to their nature in a bit.

I’ve been seeing these guys except the ‘Ashy’ one since I started seeing forests. I’ve also been mucking up their pictures since then. If there is one category of bird or animal which I have failed to get a clear shot of the most number of times consistently, it’d be these guys. I have just one sighting from Tadoba before this recent trip where I got clear pictures at the end of the day and I think I worked out what I was doing wrong finally (Pic : 1).

These guys are black mostly and where it gets complicated is that they have grey bits and little black bits along with shadows. Their black beaks reflect light, while most of their body absorbs it but not the grey bits. The black beaks and claws also cast shadows which could also be black or grey. So the whole grey, black, shadow and light play is a nightmare for most cameras. Add to that, if you’re cropping, then you’re throwing pixel density into this khitchdi of light and dark. Now, I realized that if I wanted a clear shot of these guys, I needed the light on my guy’s face and I needed him up close. Cropping pixels bleeding into each other would not work in this grey & black mix. It had to be well lit, defined and sharp coming off the lens. To sum it up, I was too far in my tries before Tadoba in 2024. Distance wasn’t a problem in Andaman, neither was the availability of subjects to test out my theory. Oh ! And Megapixels. More help but won’t as much as with other birds if these guys are far even with a high MP full frame.

There are 28 kinds of Drongos and India has 9 of those. Now these guys are pretty bold and do not hesitate to take on bigger birds if they want to. I watched a black Drongo (Pic : 1) initiate a fight with an Indian Roller at Jhalana by tugging on the guy’s tail repeatedly till he was furious and abandoned his perch. There was a lot of wing flapping and threatening but the Roller had to leave eventually. Drongo just would not quit. Pity I bombed those picks, quite a lot of action there but I’m too ashamed to put those photos on here. The Andaman Drongo (Pics : 2 - 6) is pretty similar to The Black Drongo for my eyes. The main physical difference I’d say is that they have a little more grey speckled about in between the black. These guys were earlier classified as a sub species of their black cousins but recent genetic research has established them as a distinct species.

I remember the first time I saw the Racket Tailed Drongo (Picks: 7 - 9) and how surprised I was seeing that tail as he flew over the forest canopy. I’m thankful to finally have somewhat ok photos of these guys although perched for now and not in flight. I just hope that the next time is on a brighter day. But, you get the drift of how just a little loss of light effects pictures of these guys. It’s a fantastical sight seeing them flying that I definitely need to cap soon. These guys are experts at mimicking the calls of other birds. I’d photograph one of em and then move on and suddenly hear the call of a different bird behind, to turn around, back track and find the same guy sitting there. Yeah Jokers ! Well, the practical reason for them learning to do that is to throw other birds off balance. Calls can bring out reactions depending on which call it is for a specific bird that’s listening. The goal obviously is to spread confusion and plunder the neighbor’s resources.

The Ashy Drongo, (Pics : 10 - 12) takes the same tactics a lot further. These guys are grey and hence the name and they not only mimic other birds calls but also their movements. They are also very agile and apparently seen doing arial acrobatics which I sadly have not witnessed yet. They were a lot rarer to find and the photos of this guy are the only ones I have so far. But such a beauty this one is. Different shades of grey going to white. Really? On a Drongo? That was my first reaction anyway.

They’re beautiful, have attitude, aggression and smarts. Drongos are always characters that I cannot ignore out in the wild. Well, I just hope that I can get better images of their antics now that I know what to do provided that the light is helpful.