Editing Square-tailed drongo

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Common square-tailed drongo
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2017 |title=''Dicrurus ludwigii'' |volume=2017 |page=e.T22706927A118758303 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22706927A118758303.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| image = Square-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus ludwigii).jpg
| image_caption = [[Mkhuze Game Reserve]], South Africa
| genus = Dicrurus
| species = ludwigii
| authority = ([[Andrew Smith (zoologist)|Smith, A]], 1834)
}}

The '''square-tailed drongo''' ('''''Dicrurus ludwigii'''''), formerly the common square-tailed drongo, is a [[passerine]] bird in the family [[Dicruridae]]. It is a common resident breeder in parts of [[southern Africa]].

These [[insectivorous]] birds are usually found in forests or dense bush. They are aggressive and fearless birds, given their small size, at {{cvt|19|cm}}, and will attack much larger species if their nest or young are threatened. The male is mainly glossy black, although the wings are duller. The female is similar but less glossy. The bill is black and heavy, and the eye is red. This species is similar to the [[fork-tailed drongo]], but is smaller, and the shorter tail lacks the deep fork which gives the latter species its name. The fork-tailed drongo is also typically found in more open habitat. The common square-tailed drongo has short legs and sits very upright whilst perched prominently, like a [[shrike]]. It flycatches or take prey from the ground. The call is a harsh ''{{not a typo|cherit-cherit}}''. Two to three [[Egg (biology)|egg]]s are laid in a cup nest in a fork high in a tree.

==Taxonomy==
The square-tailed drongo was described by the Scottish zoologist [[Andrew Smith (zoologist)|Andrew Smith]] in 1834 from birds observed around Port Natal (now [[Durban]]) in South Africa. He coined the [[binomial name]] ''Edolius ludwigii''.<ref>{{ cite journal | last=Smith | first=Andrew | author-link=Andrew Smith (zoologist) | year=1834 | title=''Edolius ludwigii'' | journal=South African Quarterly Journal | volume=2 | page=144 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15968260 }}</ref> The [[specific epithet]] was chosen to honour the German botanist [[Baron von Ludwig]] who collected plants in South Africa   between 1805 and 1847.<ref name=hbwkey>{{cite web | last=Jobling | first=J.A. | year=2019 | title= Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology | editor1-last=del Hoyo | editor1-first=J. | editor2-last=Elliott | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Sargatal | editor3-first=J. | editor4-last=Christie | editor4-first=D.A. | editor5-last=de Juana | editor5-first=E. | work=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive | publisher=Lynx Edicions | url=https://www.hbw.com/dictionary/definition/ludwigii | access-date=4 February 2019 }}</ref> It is now placed with the other drongos in the genus ''[[Dicrurus]]'' that was introduced by the French ornithologist [[Louis Pierre Vieillot]] in 1816.<ref>{{cite book | last=Vieillot | first=Louis Pierre | author-link=Louis Pierre Vieillot | title=Analyse d'Une Nouvelle Ornithologie Élémentaire | publisher=Deterville/self | year=1816 | location=Paris | page=41 | language=French| url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k9745205x/f47.image }}</ref> Based on the results of a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2018, the taxonomy of the square-tailed drongo complex was reorganised. [[Sharpe's drongo]] which had previously been treated as a subspecies of ''Dicrurus ludwigii'' was promoted to species rank becoming ''Dicrurus sharpei''. But those birds previously in ''Dicrurus ludwigii sharpei'' occurring between Senegal and the Niger River were considered as a separate species, the [[western square-tailed drongo]] (''Dicrurus occidentalis'').

Four subspecies are recognised:<ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | year=2019 | title=Orioles, drongos, fantails | work=World Bird List Version 9.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/orioles/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=4 February 2019 }}</ref>
* ''D. l. muenzneri'' [[Anton Reichenow|Reichenow]], 1915 – south Somalia and east Kenya to Tanzania, north Mozambique
* ''D. l. saturnus'' [[Phillip Clancey|Clancey]], 1976 – Angola (except northwest), north Zambia, north Mozambique
* ''D. l. tephrogaster'' Clancey, 1975 – Malawi, south and central Mozambique
* ''D. l. ludwigii'' ([[Andrew Smith (zoologist)|Smith, A]], 1834) – South Africa to [[Limpopo River]]

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Dicrurus ludwigii.jpg|Square-tailed drongo, by [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]]
</gallery>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* ''Birds of The Gambia'' by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, {{ISBN|1-873403-32-1}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Dicrurus ludwigii}}
* Square-tailed drongo - [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/542.pdf Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds].

{{Taxonbar|from=Q427204}}

[[Category:Drongos]]
[[Category:Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1834]]