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Tablas Drongo
Plate 1 of 1. (c) Christian Artuso, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by Christian Artuso · via iNaturalist
IUCN EN · Endangered

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Tablas Drongo

Live sightings near you, the range map, bar charts of when it is seen, and Macaulay Library photos and recordings.

Tablas Drongo

Dicrurus menagei

The Tablas drongo (Dicrurus menagei) is an Asian bird of the family Dicruridae. It was formerly considered conspecific with the hair-crested drongo.

It is endemic to Tablas Island in the Philippines. It is noted by its jet black plumage with a long fish-like tail. It inhabits tropical old-growth forest. Prior to 1998, it was not seen for many decades due to lack of surveys on the island. It is estimated to consist of just 50 to 250 mature adults making it one of the most endangered birds in the Philippines. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Continue reading on Wikipedia

From the article Tablas drongo on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section

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Description

It is a medium sized bird found in the forests of Tablas Island. It is all black with glossy wings, crown and striations on neck and chest. Has a very long fork shaped tail. Relative to other drongos, it is not as vocal with its call described as quick rasping cicada like call. The specific name, menagei, commemorates Louis F. Menage, an American real estate tycoon.

Wikipedia: “Description and taxonomy”

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Range & habitat

The species inhabits tropical moist lowland primary forest in areas with mature closed-canopy forest. Occasional sightings from the edge of clearings but is not found in fully cleared areas. Observed in the mid-canopy of tall trees, often near streams. The IUCN Red List classifies this bird as an endangered species with population estimates of 50 to 250 mature individuals. This species' main threat is habitat loss with wholesale clearance of forest habitats as a result of legal and illegal logging, and conversion into farmlands through Slash-and-burn and other methods.The species does not occur at high density even within the little remaining forest cover on Tablas: Mt Palaupau serves as a watershed for Tablas Island. There are no species specific conservation programs going on at the moment but conservation actions proposed include more species surveys to better understand habitat and population. initiate education and awareness campaigns to raise the species's profile and instill pride in locals. Lobby for protection of remaining forest and assess feasibility of reforestation projects,

== References ==

Wikipedia: “Habitat and conservation status”

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What it does

This species is insectivorous. It is known to hawk insects in the air but also gleans leaves and trunks. Observed to strip dead leafs of insects with its bill. Nest is a small cup made of thin twigs and fibres. Observed nesting in April but not much else is known about its breeding.

Wikipedia: “Ecology and behavior”

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Where it lives

Recorded sightings

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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.

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Every page naming Dicrurus menagei in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →

This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 72809.