CreatureData

Fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo

Surniculus dicruroides (Hodgson, 1839)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo (Surniculus dicruroides) is a species in the family Cuculidae, order Cuculiformes. Recorded adults weigh 29.1 g to 29.7 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo (Surniculus dicruroides)
Photo: Saswat Mishra · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo

Weight
29.1 g – 29.7 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo live?

Not recorded

What is the fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo (Surniculus dicruroides) is a species of cuckoo that resembles the Black drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus). It is found mainly in hill forests in peninsular India and Sri Lanka although some specimens are known from the Himalayan foothills. It can be identified by its metallic black plumage, straight beak, white barred vent, forked tail and white spot on the back of the head. The fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo's song has been described as a series of 5 or 6 whistling "pip-pip-pip-pip-pip-" notes rising in pitch with each "pip". They are also known for their drongo-like calls such as "quip" calls in flight and "wheep-wheep" call with a higher second note. In Sri Lanka, the fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo also has similar calls to the Sri Lanka Drongo (Dicrurus lophorinus).

It is a brood parasite on small babblers. It is not known how or whether the drongo-like appearance benefits this species but it is suspected that it aids in brood-parasitism just as hawk-cuckoos appear like hawks.

From the Wikipedia article “Fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fork-tailed_drongo-cuckoo&oldid=1376341398), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo endangered?

The fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCuculiformes
  5. familyCuculidae
  6. genusSurniculus
  7. SpeciesSurniculus dicruroides (Hodgson, 1839)

Synonyms Pseudornis dicruroides, Surniculus lugubris dicruroides

Other names and names in other languages (29)
  • وقواق درانغو متفرع الذيلArabic
  • cucut-drongo cuaforcatCatalan
  • kukačka vidloocasáCzech
  • Splithalet DrongogøgDanish
  • GabelschwanzdrongokuckuckGerman
  • Gabelschwanz-DrongokuckuckGerman
  • forkvosta drongokukoloEsperanto
  • Cuclillo drongo coliahorquilladoSpanish
  • Coucou à queue fourchueFrench
  • Coucou velouté de ChineFrench
  • kukavica lastarkaCroatian
  • Cuculo drongo codaforcutaItalian
  • エンビオウチュウカッコウJapanese
  • 검은두견이Korean
  • Šakotuodegė dronginė gegutėLithuanian
  • കാക്കത്തമ്പുരാട്ടിക്കുയിൽMalayalam
  • VorkstaartdrongokoekoekDutch
  • satengdrongogjøkNorwegian
  • kukielczyk indochińskiPolish
  • cuco-drongo-de-cauda-forcadaPortuguese
  • Вилохвостая дронговая кукушкаRussian
  • kukučka vidlochvostáSlovak
  • Račvorepa drongo kukavicaSerbian
  • klyvstjärtad drongogökSwedish
  • Çatal Kuyruklu Drongo GuguğuTurkish
  • зозуля-дронго вилохвостаUkrainian
  • 叉尾乌鹃Chinese
  • 扇尾烏鵑Chinese
  • 方尾烏鵑Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo

Other species in the same genus Surniculus.

CompareFork-tailed drongo-cuckoo vs Square-tailed drongo-cuckooFork-tailed drongo-cuckoo vs Philippine drongo-cuckooFork-tailed drongo-cuckoo vs Moluccan drongo-cuckoo

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo?

An adult fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo weighs 29.1 g – 29.7 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo endangered?

The fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo?

The fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo (Surniculus dicruroides) belongs to the family Cuculidae in the order Cuculiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo (Surniculus dicruroides). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/fork-tailed-drongo-cuckoo

MLA

“Fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo (Surniculus dicruroides).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/fork-tailed-drongo-cuckoo.

BibTeX
@misc{fork_tailed_drongo_cuckoo_2026,
  title = {Fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo (Surniculus dicruroides)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/fork-tailed-drongo-cuckoo},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}