Still I remember the song (call) given by this bird about forty years ago! It is so melodious that it is pleasant to hear it every time. This bird’s monotonous call can be heard first at dawn before any bird could start calling. This bird is our Black Drongo (King Crow, Dicrurus macrocercus, ‘Karichaan Kuruvi’ or ‘Rettaivaal Kuruvi’ in Tamil). Anyone can identify this small black bird with its longer and forked tail. It sits higher on perches like electric lines, or rides on cow’s back, darting down now and then to catch insects and grasshoppers seen on the ground. Its delicacies are the Flying Termites at Monsoon season. And at summer time it is also seen near burning grasslands catching flies that escape out of fire.
This bird lays small eggs in cup like nest in April and the eggs hatch out in fifteen days, and the young ones fly out on the sixteenth day!
The bird chases away in flight even crows or mynahs that come near its nest! In doing so it makes a lot of noise alerting other birds.
I have seen this wonder black bird sitting on electric lines even at dusk, and near street lights catching insects at night!
