This record was submitted by Alfred Chia on 23 Nov 2025. 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 is still considering this record and this page will be updated once the verdict is finalised.
| Species | Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus |
|---|---|
| Record ID | 11296 |
| Date | 23 Nov 2025 |
| Location | Open field along Marina Grove, across the road from grebe pond |
| Count | 1 individual |
| Subspecies | NA |
| Age | NA |
| Sex | NA |
| Date added | 23 Nov 2025 |
This record remains under review by the Records Committee.
| Identification |
|---|
| Was walking somewhat in the middle of open field, separated partly by a low hedge of plants when reaching the end of it, I noted a distinctly all-black bird with a longish tail swaying in the wind. It was perched on a low acacia tree. With a tail so deeply forked and an all-black plumage, I immediately recalled a Black Drongo. Unfortunately, the bird also saw me the moment I saw it and it took flight towards the direction of Marina Boulevard. When the bird was in flight, the distinctive deep fork was very evident and noticeable. There were at least four Javan Mynas (Acridotheres javanicus) chasing it when the drongo took flight, which may have explained why the drongo flew such a distance towards Marina Boulevard. After staying still to view the flying bird from my binoculars to see where it flew to, I made a U-turn to walk towards Marina Boulevard, intending to re-locate it. When I reached the spot where it was seen to supposedly land, the bird was unfortunately not located. Due to the very short viewing time of about two seconds, I only managed a glimpse of it through my Swarovski 10x42 binoculars. The short viewing time also mean I did not manage to see if there was any loral spot. When I first saw the bird, its shiny gloss of all-black, a long tail and a deep fork had already informed me of its identity as a Black Drongo, a species which I am familiar with, having seen them on many occasions in open cultivation fields in West Malaysia and Thailand in earlier years. I have also seen this species in the 90’s in Singapore on several occasions on reclaimed land with open country grasslands like Tuas and Changi. I have ruled out Ashy Drongo of the nigrescens race (Ducrurus leucophaeus nigrescens) because it has paler underparts. Crow-billed Drongo (Dicrurus annectans) is ruled out because the bill of this bird, when viewed for that split second through my binoculars is not bulky as in Crow-billed. Both species are also ruled out because of said bird all-black and glossy plumage. The very deep fork of this bird also ruled out the Ashy and Crow-billed. Although I had my Nikon P900 bridge camera with me, the short viewing time made taking a picture impossible. |
| Habitat/behaviour |
|---|
| Bird was perched on a short Acacia tree until it took flight on seeing me. Habitat was open field. No calls were heard. It flew quite a distance perhaps as a result of the Javan Mynas chasing it. |
| Viewing conditions |
|---|
| Bright and sunny. Bird was about 15-20 metres from me when I first saw it. |
| Observer's experience |
|---|
| As stated above |
| Observer's experience w/similar species |
|---|
| Have seen both Ashy & Crow-billed Drongos in Singapore, as well as in West Malaysia andThailand. |
Bird Society of Singapore. (2025). Record 11296: Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus. Retrieved November 25, 2025, from https://records.singaporebirds.com/record/11296/.