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Greater racket-tailed Drongo
The greater racket-tailed drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus) is a medium-sized Asian bird which is distinctive in having elongated outer tail feathers with webbing restricted to the tips. They are placed along with other drongos in the family Dicruridae. They are conspicuous in the forest habitats often perching in the open and by attracting attention with a wide range of loud calls that include perfect imitations of many other birds. One hypothesis suggested is that these vocal imitations may help in the formation of mixed-species foraging flocks, a feature seen in forest bird communities where many insect feeders forage together. These drongos will sometimes steal insect prey caught or disturbed by other foragers in the flock and another ideas is that vocal mimicry helps them in diverting the attention of smaller birds to aid their piracy. They are diurnal but are active well before dawn and late at dusk. Owing to their widespread distribution and distinctive regional variation, they have become iconic examples of speciation by isolation and genetic drift.
The greater racket-tailed drongo was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Cuculus paradiseus. It was one of 240 bird species that Linnaeus added to his twelfth edition based on the 1760 work Ornithologie by the French naturalist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. The current genus Dicrurus was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816.
There are 13 recognised subspecies:
D. p. grandis (Gould, 1836) – north India through west and north Myanmar and south China to north Indochina
D. p. rangoonensis (Gould, 1836) – central India through Bangladesh, central Myanmar and north Thailand to central Indochina
D. p. paradiseus (Linnaeus, 1766) – south India to south Thailand, north Malay Peninsula and south Indochina
D. p. johni (Hartert, 1902) – Hainan Island (off southeast China)
D. p. ceylonicus Vaurie, 1949 – Sri Lanka
D. p. otiosus (Richmond, 1902) – Andaman Islands
D. p. nicobariensis (Baker, ECS, 1918) – Nicobar Islands
D. p. hypoballus (Oberholser, 1926) – central Malay Peninsula
D. p. platurus Vieillot, 1817 – south Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and nearby islands
D. p. microlophus (Oberholser, 1917 – islands in the South China Sea (Tioman Island, Anambas Islands and the North Natuna Islands)
D. p. brachyphorus (Bonaparte, 1850) – Borneo
D. p. banguey (Chasen & Kloss, 1929) – islands off north Borneo
D. p. formosus (Cabanis, 1851) – Java
In most of its range in Asia, this is the largest of the drongo species and is readily identifiable by the distinctive tail rackets and the crest of curled feather that begin in front of the face above the beak and along the crown to varying extents according to the subspecies. The tail with twirled rackets is distinctive and in flight it can appear as if two large bees were chasing a black bird. In the eastern Himalayas the species can be confused with the lesser racket-tailed drongo, however the latter has flat rackets with the crest nearly absent.
This widespread species includes populations that have distinct variations and several subspecies have been named. The nominate form is found in southern India, mainly in forested areas of the Western Ghats and the adjoining hill forests of peninsular India. The subspecies in Sri Lanka is ceylonicus and is similar to the nominate form but slightly smaller. The subspecies found along the Himalayas is grandis and is the largest and has long glossy neck hackles. The Andaman Islands form otiosus has shorter neck hackles and the crest is highly reduced while the Nicobars Island form nicobariensis has a longer frontal crest and with smaller neck hackles than otiosus. The Sri Lanka drongo (D. lophorinus) used to be treated as a subspecies as it was believed to form hybrids with ceylonicus but is now considered a separate species on the basis of their overlapping ranges. Specimens of the nominate form have sometimes been confused with the Sri Lanka drongo. Considerable variation in shape of the bill, extent of the crest, hackles and tail rackets exists in the island populations of Southeast Asia. The Bornean brachyphorus (=insularis), banguey of Banggai lack crests (banguey has frontal feathers that arch forwards) while very reduced crests are found in microlophus (=endomychus; Natunas, Anambas and Tiomans) and platurus (Sumatra). A number of forms are known along the Southeast Asian islands and mainland including formosus (Java), hypoballus (Thailand), rangoonensis (northern Burma, central Indian populations were earlier included in this) and johni (Hainan).
Young birds are duller, and can lack a crest while moulting birds can lack the elongate tail streamers. The racket is formed by the inner web of the vane but appears to be on the outer web since the rachis has a twist just above the spatula.
The distribution range of this species extends from the western Himalayas to the eastern Himalayas and Mishmi Hills in the foothills below 1,200 m (3,900 ft). They are found in the hills of peninsular India and the Western Ghats. Continuing into the west to the islands of Borneo and Java in the east through the mainland and islands.
They common whistle note that is made leads to its local name in many parts of India of kothwal (which means a "policeman" or "guard", who used a whistle that produced a similar note), a name also applied to the black drongo and in other places as the Bhimraj or Bhringaraj. In Mizo language of northeast India, it is called Vakul and the Mizo people regarded the bird as ' 'king of the birds' ' Prior to the 1950s it was often kept in captivity by people in parts of India. It was said to be very hardy and like a crow, accommodating a varied diet. Edward H. Schafer considered the greater racket-tailed drongo as the basis for the divine kalaviáą…ka birds mentioned in Chinese and Japanese Buddhist texts.
This is another shot of the tiny caterpillar of a California Sister (Adelpha bredowii) butterfly on a half-eaten leaf of Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia, Fagaceae) that I've shown before in this photo from a week ago. That stalk that it's hanging over is a main vein of the oak leaf after the green part has been eaten away, and if you compare my earlier photo of the same caterpillar, you can see how much of the leaf it's eaten in a week. (Not much, it's still tiny.) That extended vein of the leaf is surprising - if you look close, you can see that the entire vein is wrapped with webbing, presumably for strength. The vein isn't just a leftover, it's a deliberate structure! See my other photo for links to more photos of the same thing that I'm just starting to appreciate. (San Marcos Pass, 12 June 2020)
1" - 17337 Coyote Tan - 100 yds
1" - 17337 Marpat Brown - 100 yds
2" - 17337 Multicam Two Side Printed - 100 yds
1.5" Scuba - Black - 200 yds
Made for a relative; I call this color combination "Douglas fir" after the conifers here in my home bioregion. Made with French seams.
Webbing supports on the chair back so you don't go through the chair when you are just trying to relax.
Where is this suffering or possibly enjoying itself tree? Say so in the comments and earn a point in the Guess Where SF group.
Front view shows the webbing between the toes, as well as the straight blunt bill. Seems to me that the dark color of the legs is not as black as that on the similar Western Sandpipers.
328/365
Finally got my new 5d Mark II and it wouldn't work with CS3. So, upgraded the software and computer and we're ready to go!
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
All Photos are Copyright by Kat Shanahan. They may NOT be reposted, copied, modified, or used in any manner without written permission from Kat.
In this image one can clearly see the lack of webbing between the toes which is diagnostic when separating Semi-palmated Plover and Common Ringed Plover. The white flare (Nike Swoosh) above the eye is very prominent in this image.
Found by Todd Easterla. First California State Record.
Cropped digi-scoped image.
This is a spider and webbing and under a piece of loose bark in our woodpile. Happy Web Webnesday! (San Marcos Pass, 10 January 2023)
Windscreen webbing and hinged door rollbar removed. Equipped with adjustable steering wheel w/turn signals, turbo 400 three speed automatic, B & M ratchet shifter.
Copyright - All Rights Reserved - Black Diamond Images
On the 16-17th February 2023 we had a contractor work 3 truckloads of Melinga Quarry brown road base into our driveway and then using a heavy roller produce an excellent finished surface that we are very happy with.
Nevertheless, there are always different ways of dealing with erosion problems in downhill sloping gravel driveways.
My good friend and neighbour, who has a much shorter driveway than ours, has had a history of losing his driveway gravel due to downhill erosive water flow.
About 15 years ago he decided to install a swale on the uphill side of his driveway. While this to a large degree solved much of the problem, he nevertheless was still unable to prevent erosion to the extent he wanted.
The method shown in this image is his latest attempt to deal with the problem and its very likely this 'Bago Gravel' mesh system will work as intended.
While I was doing my driveway, he was simultaneously sitting on a small excavator preparing the surface of his driveway to receive the poly webbing which would form the basis of the method.
'Bago Gravel' is a much finer aggregate material with naturally high clay content. Once it is spread across the mesh and rolled and compacted it should provide an excellent surface and hopefully resist the erosive forces of downhill flowing water.
The edges of this driveway will be contained by use of concrete paving sections which in theory should contain the gravel to the mesh webbing.
Time will tell how both our driveways fare given the differing materials and methodology associated with each.
New playground at the end of Octavia Boulevard, Hayes Valley, San Francisco
Presented in 1600x1200 for your viewing pleasure.
1984 Mercedes Benz 380 SL
158,000 miles
Black exterior / black interior / black soft-top
This 1984 380SL is an all-original car.
It has never been in any accident or had any body repair done of any kind.
The paint is 100% original, a couple of small dents and spider webbing in the paint have not been corrected to preserve the originality.
Mechanically the car is rock solid. No expense has been spared in maintaining and repairing this SL. Close to 10 years of comprehensive service records are available.
Tires have less than 5,000 miles on them.
The car is optioned burled walnut wood accents, a rare and unusual option for a 380SL.
Everything on this 380SL works as it should.
Only two items detract from this SL’s total originality: First is that the rims were replaced with OEM 560SL wheels that were professionally refinished about 2 years ago. The second is the aftermarket head unit that replaced the failed original several years ago.
The car is ready to go and will be a very reliable daily driver. The only thing that might require immediate attention is the seal for the radio antenna, the original just recently cracked and fell off, it is an inexpensive part to replace.
The 380SL is currently in storage so please make an appointment with me in advance if you want to come see it and go for a test drive.
Here is webbing on a leaf of native California Coffeeberry (Frangula californica, Rhamnaceae) in the woods today. I believe the frizzy webbing is the work of a cribellate species of Mesh Web Weaver in the family Dictynidae, maybe genus Dictyna itself. The spider is absent, but see this photo from last week. Happy Web Webnesday! (San Marcos Pass, 2 July 2025)
A week ago, I posted this photo showing the webbing of a little caterpillar on a leaf of Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia, Fagaceae). You can't make out the caterpillar in that photo, but here's another shot taken a few days later in which the caterpillar is visible. If you compare the two images, you can see that the caterpillar has eaten more of the top layer of the leaf, and in time it will completely skeletonize it. It's also turned more of the leaf into the frass (poo) which seems to be the roof of its shelter. I don't know what kind of caterpillar it is, but I do know that spiders aren't the only ones - Happy Web Webnesday! (San Marcos Pass, 6 April 2019)
GREATER RACKET-TAILED DRONGO :
The Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Dicrurus paradiseus, is a medium-sized Asian bird which is distinctive in having elongated outer tail feathers with webbing restricted to the tips. They are placed along with other drongos in the family Dicruridae. They are conspicuous in the forest habitats often perching in the open and by attracting attention with a wide range of loud calls that include perfect imitations of many other birds. It has been suggested that these imitations may help in the formation of mixed-species foraging flocks, a feature seen in forest bird communities where many insect feeders forage together. These drongos will sometimes steal insect prey caught or disturbed by other foragers in the flock. They are diurnal but are active well before dawn and late at dusk. Owing to their widespread distribution and distinctive regional variation, they have become iconic examples of speciation by isolation and genetic drift.
> Description
In most of its range in Asia, this is the largest of the drongo species and is readily identifiable by the distinctive tail rackets and the crest of curled feather that begin in front of the face above the beak and along the crown to varying extents according to the subspecies. The tail with twirled rackets is distinctive and in flight it can appear as if two large bees were chasing a black bird. In the eastern Himalayas the species can be confused with the Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo, however the latter has flat rackets with the crest nearly absent.
This widespread species includes populations that have distinct variations and several subspecies have been named. The nominate form is found in southern India, mainly in forested areas of the Western Ghats and the adjoining hill forests of peninsular India. The subspecies in Sri Lanka is ceylonicus and is similar to the nominate form but slightly smaller. The subspecies found along the Himalayas is grandis and is the largest and has long glossy neck hackles. The Andaman Islands form otiosus has shorter neck hackles and the crest is highly reduced while the Nicobars Island form nicobariensis has a longer frontal crest and with smaller neck hackles than otiosus. The Sri Lankan form lophorinus used to be treated as a subspecies due to the suggestion that it formed hybrids with ceylonicus is considered a separate species in newer taxonomic treatments on the basis of their overlapping ranges. Specimens of the nominate form have sometimes been confused with lophorinus. Considerable variation in shape of the bill, extent of the crest, hackles and tail rackets exists in the island populations of Southeast Asia. The Bornean brachyphorus (=insularis), banguey of Banggai lack crests (banguey has frontal feathers that arch forwards) while very reduced crests are found in microlophus (=endomychus; Natunas, Anambas and Tiomans) and platurus (Sumatra). A number of forms are known along the Southeast Asian islands and mainland including formosus (Java), hypoballus (Thailand), rangoonensis (northern Burma, central Indian populations were earlier included in this) and johni (Hainan).
Young birds are duller, and can lack a crest while moulting birds can lack the elongate tail streamers. The racket is formed by the inner web of the vane but appears to be on the outer web since the rachis has a twist just above the spatula.
> Distribution and habitat
The distribution range of this species extends from the western Himalayas to the eastern Himalayas and Mishmi Hills in the foothills below 4000 feet. Continuing into the west to the islands of Borneo and Java in the east through the mainland and islands. They are found mainly in forest habitats.
Photography : Kaushik singha roy
I am not very knowledgeable on spiders that live in sheet webbing and in these tangled web structures. This one was full of tiny spiders. I don’t know if they are a social species of if this is an elaborate egg sac and all the spiderlings have hatched. I.D. help is, as always, much appreciated. Found in bushland in East Blaxland, Blue Mountains, NSW.
Nike Air Max 98, GS, Size 6Y, University Red, Summit White, BV4872-600, Running Shoes, UPC: 00882801504938, 2018, kid's edition, Leather textile and synthetic leather, white mesh upper, Max Air Unit, Soft foam cushions, University Red patent and smooth leather panels, striped lace webbing, multi-window Max Air layer, metallic piping, low top running shoes, lace up closure, Nike Swoosh Branding, Padded tongue, NIKE Air Max logo graphic detail, Cushioned inner sole, Retro silhouette, fluid design lines, Traction rubber air bubble outsole, Full length visible Air Unit, AM98