This record was submitted by Albert Low on 17 Nov 2021. All user submissions will be reviewed by the Records Committee. Entries listed here may be edited for brevity and clarity while the original record is left unchanged.
This record was submitted to the Records Committee for review.
The Records Committee began deliberating on this record.
The Records Committee completed its review and finalised its verdict.
| Species | Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus |
|---|---|
| Record ID | 10036 |
| Date | 01 Nov 2021 |
| Location | Tuas |
| Count | 1 individual |
| Date added | 17 Nov 2021 |
| Background |
|---|
| No media available, but detailed descriptions by the experienced observer were submitted to the committee. Descriptions included, quote: "a uniformly black drongo with a deeply forked tail and a thin bill. Crow-billed Drongo was ruled out on account of bill size, a comparatively shallow tail fork and the lack of any visible gloss on the upperparts". |
| Vote results | This record was not put through an explicit vote, but the SBRC has evaluated and verified the record. |
|---|---|
| Verdict | Accepted / Wild (Verifiable) |
| Identification |
|---|
| I had a good view of the drongo through the binoculars and the key features noted were (1) a uniformly black drongo with a deeply forked tail and a thin bill. Crow-billed Drongo was ruled out on account of bill size, a comparatively shallow tail fork and the lack of any visible gloss on the upperparts. Admittedly, Ashy Drongo was not considered at that moment due to (1) its greater rarity locally and (2) the habitat the bird was observed in. Additionally, having established that it was (to me) a Black Drongo, my sole focus was unsuccessfully trying to get my birding partner onto the bird before it flew off. |
| Habitat/behaviour |
|---|
| The bird was flushed off the ground in an area of grassy turf interspersed with groves of Casuarina, Acacia auriculiformis and other pioneer trees. It landed on a dead Casuarina snag for no longer than 10 seconds before taking off and flying off in a north-eastern direction towards the bay and could not be relocated. |
| Viewing conditions |
|---|
| It was around 1pm in the afternoon in partly cloudy weather. I was roughly 20 metres away from the bird at the time of spotting it. |
| Observer's experience |
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| I have seen Black Drongo very regularly around the Oriental Region, but have seen it in Singapore less than 10 times prior to this sighting. |
| Observer's experience w/similar species |
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| I am very familiar with Crow-billed Drongo and have numerous observations from Singapore, and on the day of this sighting had seen an adult bird two hours prior to this sighting. |
Bird Society of Singapore. (2021). Record 10036: Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus. Retrieved April 25, 2024, from https://records.singaporebirds.com/record/10036/.