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
Singapore's first and only record so far was of one bird at Changi Business Park on 26 Nov 2019.
Hair-crested Drongo at Mount Faber. Photo credit: Jared Tan
Hair-crested Drongo at Mount Faber. Photo credit: Jared Tan
Hair-crested Drongo at Changi Business Park. Photo credit: T Ramesh
Hair-crested Drongo at Mount Faber. Photo credit: Francis Yap

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 April 24, 2025 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/hair-crested-drongo.

To top