The fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo (''Surniculus dicruroides'') is a species of cuckoo that resembles a black drongo. It is found resident mainly in peninsular India in hill forests although some specimens are known from the Himalayan foothills. It can be easily distinguished by its straight beak and the white barred vent. It has a deeply forked tail often having a white spot on the back of the head. The song has been described as a series of 5 or 6 whistling "pip-pip-pip-pip-pip-" notes rising in pitch with each "pip". It is a

brood parasite Brood parasites are animals that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite manipulates a host, either of the same or of another species, to raise its young as if it were its own ...

on small

babbler Babbler may refer to: * Old World babbler, a large family of mostly Old World passerine birds * Australo-Papuan babbler, passerine birds endemic to Australia-New Guinea * Babbler (software) Babbler is a French software company founded in Septem ...

s. 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. The species was described by Brian Hodgson from Nepal as ''Pseudornis dicruroides''. It was later placed as a subspecies of ''Surniculus lugubris''. In 2005 it was suggested that the species was should be split from the more narrowly defined square-tailed drongo-cuckoo ''Surniculus lugubris'' due to morphological and call differences.

Rasmussen, P. C. Pamela Cecile Rasmussen (born October 16, 1959) is an American ornithologist and expert on Asian birds. She was formerly a research associate at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and is based at the Michigan State University. She ...

& Anderton, J. C. 2005

Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide ''Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide'' by Pamela C. Rasmussen and John C. Anderton is a two-volume ornithological handbook, covering the birds of South Asia, published in 2005 (second edition in 2012) by the Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Ed ...

. Smithsonian and Lynx Edicions

References

fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo Birds of South China Birds of Hainan Birds of the Himalayas Birds of South Asia fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo fork-tailed drongo-cuckoo {{Cuculiformes-stub