page_title: Spangled drongo
section_title: Behaviour
hierarchical_section_title: Spangled drongo / Behaviour
caption_attribution_description: English: Spangled Drongo, Dicrurus bracteatus; wild bird
context_page_description: The spangled drongo is a bird of the family Dicruridae. It is the only drongo to be found in Australia where it can be recognised by its black, iridescent plumage and by its characteristic forked tail. It feeds on insects and small vertebrates. It has complex and varied calls and is a mimic of the sounds it hears. It arrives in Queensland in late spring and breeds high in an isolated tree, producing three to five young each year.
context_section_description: The spangled drongo displays uninhibited and sometimes comical behaviour as it swoops and perches in search of insects, small birds and occasionally, small skinks.  When it seasonally visits urban areas it is easily tamed by throwing small pieces of raw meat into the air, when it will accurately swoop and catch them mid-air.
  Whilst this bird is often silent, it sometimes makes astonishingly loud, complex and entertaining calls that may sound like a "sneeze". The spangled drongo is an amazing mimic taking most of its vocabulary from the sounds heard in the vicinity and weaving them into a virtuoso aria.
  The spangled drongo is the only drongo to be found in Australia. These birds are altitudinal and latitudinal migrants, and in the high altitude areas around Brisbane in Queensland, they arrive in late spring and leave with their new crop of juveniles in mid-summer. Nests are cup shaped in open spaces, where it is difficult for predators to access without being seen, 75% up the canopy. Each year, they produce 3-5 young.
caption: A nest of vine tendrils
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 350D DIGITAL", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "ACD Systems Digital Imaging", "Image DateTime": "2009:12:25 10:09:24", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "227", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "9361", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "9076", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/200", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "400", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2009:12:20 11:14:13", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2009:12:20 11:14:13", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "125237/16384", "EXIF ApertureValue": "162885/32768", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Partial", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "420", "EXIF SubSecTime": "78", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1047", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1311", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "9273", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1728000/437", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "384000/97", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}