Hair-crested Drongo

The hair-crested drongo is a glossy black drongo about 28 cm long. It has a relatively long, slender bill that curves slightly downward, a subtle crest of elongated forehead feathers and iridescent spangles that catch the light on the breast and upperparts. The outer tail feathers curl upward and inward at their tips rather than forming the deep, straight-sided fork of some other drongos. These features are most useful when separating it from other dark drongos (Birds of Singapore).

Its broad range extends from the Indian subcontinent through Indochina and China to parts of Indonesia and the Philippines. It uses mixed woodland, forest edge and open country, with migrants sometimes appearing in parks and gardens. Birds often travel in noisy small flocks. From a high perch they make agile sallies to capture invertebrates in flight, among foliage or on the ground, and they also take small reptiles. Their varied harsh and metallic calls are conspicuous (Birds of Singapore; Wikipedia, general species account).