Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China (mainland), India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore (E), Taiwan (China), Thailand, Vietnam.
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Voice
Song is a sharp, combination of two notes, one is an upslurred 'sweep' the other a sharply downslurred 'tsit'. Notes are uttered in various combinations.
Subspecies
Formerly placed in a monotypic genus, Chaptia. Appears similar to Lesser Racquet-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus remifer) in general plumage characteristics (apart from absence of racquets). Possibly originates from an ancient form related to Lesser Racquet-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus remifer). Clear trend of decreasing size from north to south. Nominate subspecies intergrades with malayensis in central Peninsular Malaysia (Pahang and northern Selangor).
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
aeneus Vieillot, 1817 - Indian subcontinent (Himalayan foothills eastern from Uttar Pradesh, south through hills of Bangladesh to eastern Ghats, and western Ghats southern from R Tapti), south-eastern Asia (south to central Peninsular Malaysia), and southern China (south-eastern Xizang, western and south-western Yunnan, southern Guangxi, Hainan).
braunianus (Swinhoe, 1863) - Interior mountains of Taiwan.
malayensis (Blyth, 1846) - Central Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet