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Subject: (sound) Ashy Drongo (leucogensis) [Print This Page]
Author: cyanophile    Time: 2/12/2011 22:43     Subject: (sound) Ashy Drongo (leucogensis)

This morning I heard the Ashy Drongo called continuously, so I recorded a video for it. I wrote some of my observation in the description box of the video. Please check and feel free to discuss on that. I set the camera in a wrong mode so the image is not really good but the audio is ok.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqwv7h_P0oA
2011.12.02 morning, Southern Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong (The Ashy Drongo was about 25m from where I am)
Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus, subspecies: leucogensis)

By the way, are the following resources the most detailed resources about Ashy Drongo subspecies leucogensis? :

online resources:
The Fauna Of British India including Ceylon and Burma 2nd Ed. Vol II (1924)
http://avis.indianbiodiversity.o ... nys-leucogenys.html

The Fauna Of British India including Ceylon and Burma 1st Ed. Vol I (1889)
http://avis.indianbiodiversity.o ... rus-leucogenys.html

book:
“Drongos: Black Drongo, Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo, White-Bellied Drongo, Drongo, Ashy Drongo, Bronzed Drongo, Fork-Tailed Drongo”

If there is any good book or resource about Drongos (I am most interested in detailed description of the appearance of different subspecies i.e. identification, though behavior etc also interested me), please kindly inform me. Thank you. ☺

photos taken at same place same time



Thank you :]

[ Last edited by cyanophile at 3/12/2011 07:56 ]

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Author: tsheunglai    Time: 3/12/2011 20:51

Dear Cyanophile

Thank you for posting the video clip of an Ashy drongo which was feeling qutie secure to 'sing'.

But according to my observation of the same species (of both subspecies) which winter in HK, they are
without exception are good mimickers of the calls of other birds, especially when there are birds of
other species nearby. In such situation they usually utter Ap..ip.ip (often repeated twice or thrice),an aggressive three-note call,in a flat tone of loudness falling slightly from first and slip to second and third ones. Very often it is followed by a cold chuckle closely resembling the call of a Crested groshawk. Again quite often care must be exercised for Ashy drongos may utter other variants resembling
other species, notably confusable with those of Orange-bellied leafbirds in Hong Kong.

Intuitively, I feel yours is a young bird whose call is soft and weak, but also possibly some mimicking
of some other birds picked up on his way of growth, again possibly in his breeding ground.

Anyhow, your effort and interest in bird calls are entirely praiseworthy.


S L Tai

[ Last edited by tsheunglai at 3/12/2011 20:55 ]
Author: cyanophile    Time: 5/12/2011 23:08

Dear S L Tai,

Thank you so much for spending time writing the comment   I really learn a lot from that  

After some researches, there is still one question that I cannot find the answer myself: I am figuring out what does "Ap..ip.ip (often repeated twice or thrice),an aggressive three-note call,in a flat tone of loudness falling slightly from first and slip to second and third ones. Very often it is followed by a cold chuckle closely resembling the call of a Crested groshawk" sounds like......is it something sound like the following audio track 0:47 to the end?
(I choose this because I heard something like a chuckle)

http://soundcloud.com/user848968/ashy-drongo-reupload

Sorry for my clumsy illustration

It is ok if the answer is actually "no"   I am just trying to match the actual sound with your discription.

Thank you again for your comment

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