Drongos (Dicruridae)

Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus) - HBW 14, p. 220

French: Drongo cendré German: Graudrongo Spanish: Drongo Cenizo
Other common names: Pale/Grey Drongo; Indian Grey Drongo (longicaudatus); Assam Grey Drongo (hopwoodi); Burmese Grey Drongo (nigrescens); White-cheeked (Grey) Drongo (leucogenis)

Taxonomy: Dicrurus leucophaeus Vieillot, 1817, "Ceylon"; error = Java.
Recent DNA studies indicate that this Asian species is closest to the African group of drongos, providing evidence of a dispersal from Africa c. 10 million years ago. Dark race longicaudatus and white-faced race leucogenis formerly treated as two separate species. Subspecific taxonomy complicated, as many races not clearly differentiated and, in most of mainland, races are highly migratory. Race hopwoodi intergrades with longicaudatus in West Bengal and Bhutan, and with mouhoti in NE Myanmar, NW & W Laos and C Vietnam; nigrescens intergrades with mouhoti in S Myanmar and with bondi in SE Thailand; in China, pale race leucogenis intergrades with dark salangensis along R Yangtze, and latter may intergrade with mouhoti in N Vietnam (N Tonkin). Proposed race beavani (described from E Afghanistan) considered inseparable from longicaudatus; celaenus (from Simeulue, off NW Sumatra) and palawanensis (Palawan, in W Philippines) considered too poorly differentiated from nominate to warrant recognition. Fourteen subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

longicaudatus Jerdon, 1862 - breeds in S Himalayas from extreme E Afghanistan E to Bhutan; non-breeding at lower altitudes and through Indian peninsula (except Punjab, Sind and arid parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat) S to Sri Lanka.
hopwoodi Stuart Baker, 1918 - breeds in E Himalayas (E from Bhutan), SW & S China (from E Xizang E to S Guangdong), N & C Myanmar E to N Vietnam; migrates S to West Bengal, S Assam, Bangladesh, S China (Hainan) and S Myanmar, N & E Thailand and S Laos.
leucogenis ( Walden, 1870) - E & C China from Liaoning S (E from N Gansu and Sichuan) to NE Guangdong; migrates to S China, N Laos, E Thailand, Cambodia, Tenasserim and Malay Peninsula (both W & E coastal plains).

See all 14 subspecies

longicaudatus Jerdon, 1862 - breeds in S Himalayas from extreme E Afghanistan E to Bhutan; non-breeding at lower altitudes and through Indian peninsula (except Punjab, Sind and arid parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat) S to Sri Lanka.
hopwoodi Stuart Baker, 1918 - breeds in E Himalayas (E from Bhutan), SW & S China (from E Xizang E to S Guangdong), N & C Myanmar E to N Vietnam; migrates S to West Bengal, S Assam, Bangladesh, S China (Hainan) and S Myanmar, N & E Thailand and S Laos.
leucogenis ( Walden, 1870) - E & C China from Liaoning S (E from N Gansu and Sichuan) to NE Guangdong; migrates to S China, N Laos, E Thailand, Cambodia, Tenasserim and Malay Peninsula (both W & E coastal plains).
salangensis Reichenow, 1882 - SE China S of R Yangtze (to Fujian-Guangdong border); migrates S to Hainan, S Indochina, E, C & S Thailand and Malay Peninsula.
innexus ( Swinhoe, 1870) - Hainan.
mouhoti ( Walden, 1870) - C, SW & E Myanmar, N & E Thailand and C Indochina; migrates to S Myanmar, S Thailand and Cambodia.
bondi Meyer de Schauensee, 1937 - W & E Thailand, Cambodia, S Laos and S Vietnam.
nigrescens Oates, 1889 - S Myanmar (Tenasserim) and Malay Peninsula (W of Main Range) S (including Phuket I and Pinang I) to Johor; post-breeding dispersal S to Singapore.
batakensis ( Robinson & Kloss, 1919) - N Sumatra (Aceh and Batak Highlands).
phaedrus ( Reichenow, 1904) - C & S Sumatra.
leucophaeus Vieillot, 1817 - Simeulue, off NW Sumatra; Java, Bali, Lombok; and SW Philippines (Busuanga, Culion, Palawan and Balabac).
siberu Chasen & Kloss, 1926 - Siberut, off W Sumatra.
periophthalmicus ( Salvadori, 1894) - Sipura and Pagai Is, off W Sumatra.
stigmatops ( Sharpe, 1879) - N Borneo.