The Greater Racket-tailed Drongo: My First Birding Experience

By Tasnim Mohd Hanafiah

Growing up in the suburbs of Malaysia where nature was often just an afterthought, birds to me used to be just…birds (or ‘burung’ as they are called in Malay)—a common and forgettable member of the scenery. If you asked me the bird types I knew back then, I would have said ‘chickens, pigeons, crows’ and maybe Common Mynas and Eurasian Tree Sparrows if I bothered to look up their actual species.  

 

 Common Myna (left) and Eurasian Tree Sparrows (right) are common birds you can find throughout Malaysia. Pictures from Pixabay. Images are free for commercial use and no attribution is required.

 

It was not until two years ago when I truly appreciated their diversity. I had an amazing opportunity to volunteer for the Langur Project Penang, a citizen science project founded by Joleen Yap, a PhD student at Universiti Sains Malaysia. The project was focused on studying an endemic langur species on Penang Island, otherwise known as the dusky leaf monkeys, recognised for their black fur coat and round white circles around their eyes. While spending several hours in the day trailing and observing these monkeys, I had the chance to observe other Malaysian native species I never knew existed. This was how I learned about the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo. Their presence was a useful indicator of the langurs we were studying. When tree branches are rustled by a monkey’s subtlest movements, invertebrates will fall and scatter, presenting a great feeding opportunity to the bird. So, wherever we found drongos, we knew langurs were probably nearby.

 

The Greater Racket-tailed Drongo is a black bird with distinct long tails ending in a pair of rackets. Pictures from Pixabay. Images are free for commercial use and no attribution is required.

 

Like many birds, the drongos were easy to miss if one was not attentive, so our main way of identifying them was by ear (my first taste of birding by sound!). Besides their mystical appearance and symbiotic relationship with the langurs, this bird species was also fascinating due to their ability to imitate other birdcalls. This, to me, was a remarkable discovery, as I had only previously known parrots to be animal mimics! 

Wanting to feel again the excitement that I felt in the field after we had left, I went back home and binge-watched bird watching videos. I was excited about the prospect of joining a community that went around local areas to look (and listen) to birds. Unfortunately, despite being a region that is rich in biodiversity, such nature groups were not so accessible in Malaysia. Luckily, BirdSoc formed just in time with my enrollment to uni and I have been able to further explore this new interest together with my peers.

Nevertheless, I learned a great deal through my first field experience studying langurs and drongos, about how different species are connected and my own blindness towards nature. I hope more people can have this experience as well and understand the value of noticing and appreciating the diversity of living things in their surroundings and everyday life. Regardless of where they live. 


This piece was written by our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer, Tasnim Mohd Hanafiah (pronouns she/her), who is a second-year biology student from Malaysia.

If you would like to contribute a piece to our blog, please get in touch at edinburghbirdsoc@gmail.com. Anything from lockdown reflections to birding travels!

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