Hair-crested Drongo

Hair-crested Drongo
This species is defined as a Review Species . Please submit your records of this species via our record submission page .

Scientific Name: Dicrurus hottentottus

Malay Name: Cecawi Berambut

Chinese Name: 发冠卷尾

Range: Breeding Range: Widespread from India through to eastern China. Also present in Borneo, Philippines, Sulawesi and Moluccas

Taxonomy: Polytypic. Subspecies are: hottentottus, brevirostris, viridinitens, borneensis, faberi, termeuleni, jentincki, leucops, banggaiensis, guillemardi, pectoralis, suluensis.

Local Subspecies: brevirostris

Size:

Identification: Potential for confusion with other drongos – see links below – but Hair-crested has a longer, more slender, and slightly downcurved bill. The tips of the outer tail feathers are curled upwards and inwards.

Similar looking species: Black Drongo, Crow-billed Drongo, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

Habitat: Mixed woodland and open country, mostly lowlands, sometimes parks and gardens on migration

Behaviour/Ecology: A typical drongo: a sit-and-wait predator watching from a high perch and then flying out to capture prey (invertebrates, small reptiles) on the wing or on the ground

Local Status: Vagrant

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2016)

Featured articles:

Featured reports: Jan 2025, Feb 2025

Past records in our database:

Showing only accepted records. Note that records currently under review are also not displayed, and the list may not be a full list of records of this species in Singapore. For more details, check the database here.

Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):

Hair-crested Drongo Dicrurus hottentottus
Average number of individuals by week based on Singapore Bird Database data, Jul 2014 to Jun 2024 (all records)
Peak week Nov 26-Dec 02
Early date 26 Nov 2019
Late date 26 Nov 2019
Possibly overlooked, this vagrant drongo has now been recorded twice in Singapore.
Hair-crested Drongo at Changi Business Park. Photo credit: T Ramesh
Hair-crested Drongo at Mount Faber. Photo credit: Francis Yap
Hair-crested Drongo at Mount Faber. Photo credit: Jared Tan
Hair-crested Drongo at Mount Faber. Photo credit: Jared Tan

External Links:

Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page

Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link

Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link

eBird Species page: eBird (Hair-crested Drongo)

References:

BirdLife International. (2016). Dicrurus hottentottus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T103711043A95131033.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Hair-crested Drongo. Retrieved on May 22, 2025 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/hair-crested-drongo.

To top