Drongos

Nine species, all glossy black or near-black, and all built around the same forked tail that gives the family its silhouette — though how far that fork goes varies enormously, from a modest notch to the wire-thin, racket-tipped streamers of Greater Racket-tailed Drongo. Drongos are aggressive, aerial hunters, sallying out from an exposed perch to take insects on the wing, and that habit of perching in the open on a bare twig or wire makes them one of the more approachable families to photograph once found.

Several species carry fine hair-like feathers on the forehead or forecrown, more pronounced in some than others, and most have a genuine talent for mimicry — a drongo's call is often a patchwork of other birds' voices rather than anything distinctive of its own, which makes call alone an unreliable way to find or confirm one.