Ashy Drongos in Iran in 2014-18 and status in the WP

Abstract

In the boundaries of the Western Palearctic (WP) only two species of drongo are recorded as very rare vagrant: Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus and an Ashy Drongo D leucophaeus (Mitchell 2017). This paper documents the first records of Ashy Drongo for Iran and discusses the occurrence of this species in the 'greater' WP (i.e. including the Arabian Peninsula and Iran).

Full text

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[Dutch Birding 41: 23-28, 2019]
The family of drongos Dicruridae includes 25
species distributed throughout the Old World,
mostly in tropical areas of Africa (mainly south of
the Sahara), the Indian Ocean archipelagos, India,
East Asia north to Manchuria and south to
Indonesia, Philippines, Sulawesi and Australasia
(cf Pasquet et al 2007, del Hoyo & Collar 2016,
Gill & Donsker 2018). In the boundaries of the
Western Palearctic (WP), two drongo species have
been recorded, both as very rare vagrants: Black
Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus and Ashy Drongo
D leucophaeus (Mitchell 2017, Shirihai & Svens-
son 2018). This paper documents the rst records
of Ashy Drongo for Iran and discusses the occur-
rence of this species in the ‘greater’ WP (ie, includ-
ing the Arabian Peninsula and Iran).
February 2014: rst record
During their rst trip to Iran from 5-28 February
2014, Leander Khil and Barbara Koer visited
several places including the area of Fereydunkenar,
Mazandaran, on the Caspian coast, to see ‘Omid’
– the last known individual of Siberian Crane
Leuco geranus leucogeranus of the western popu-
lation, the desert areas around Yazd to see the en-
demic Pleske’s Ground Jay Podoces pleskei and
the island of Qeshm, which hosts a large man-
grove forest where big numbers of wintering shore-
birds can be seen. Furthermore, they went bird-
watching in and around the town of Minab, Hor-
moz gan province. This area has proven to be a
good spot for sought-after species like Sind Wood-
pecker Dendrocopos assimilis but also for eastern
vagrants.
In the morning of 19 February, in suburban areas
in and around Minab they discovered four drongos:
one individual was seen behind houses along a
main road in the town (27.16794°N, 57.06689°E)
and three birds were found later the same day in
date groves c 3.5 km north-west of the city center
(27.17777°N, 57.05838°E). On 20 February, one
individual was still present at the latter location.
Because Porter & Aspinall (2010) listed Black
Drongo as the only member of the genus to have
been recorded within Iran, all individuals were
initially identied as Black Drongo, also due to
their lack of thorough experience with the genus.
Later reassessment of the photographs revealed
that at least the single bird seen was an Ashy
Drongo (plate 22-23). This record was accepted as
the rst for Iran (Khaleghizadeh et al 2017).
Unfortunately, the other three birds could not be
safely identied from the photographs, so their
identication has to remain open.
Description
The description is based on the features noted in
the eld and the available photographs.
SIZE & SHAPE Medium-sized, with overall blackish plum-
age. Perched in very upright position with very long, split
tail hanging down vertically.
HEAD Face (especially lore and ear-coverts) appearing
darker than crown and nape.
UPPERPARTS & WING Feathers on back, rump, nape and
crown matt and dark slate-grey, wing and tail feathers
contrastingly darker brownish-black and seemingly
worn.
UNDERPARTS Breast, belly and vent paler grey than
slightly darker throat and side of head.
TAIL Strikingly long and deeply forked. Dark grey.
BARE PARTS Eye very conspicuously reddish-brown to
crimson-red. No white rictal spot at base of bill. Bill and
leg blackish.
WEAR Remiges and rectrices worn, tinged brownish.
BEHAVIOUR Perching on very exposed tree tops close to
human settlements from where performing aerial hunts
for ying insects.
January 2016: second record
Magnus Ullman made his rst visit to Iran in spring
2003 when several areas in this vast country were
covered, including a couple of days in Hormozgan
province. More Iran spring trips followed and
Hormozgan regularly featured in the itinerary.
However, partly due to the many interesting
waders that were observed in spring and partly
due to the geographical position of this southerly
province the idea of visiting in winter evolved.
Babak Musavi, who probably knows Iranian bird-
life better than anyone else, agreed that a January
visit would be worthwhile. Thus, they spent c 10
days in Hormozgan in the second half of January
2016 together with Per Øystein Klunderud and
Mattias Ullman. Apart from many local birds as
well as regular winter visitors they enjoyed several
Ashy Drongos in Iran in 2014-18 and
status in the WP
 LeanderKhil,MagnusUllman&ŁukaszŁawicki

24
Ashy Drongos in Iran in 2014-18 and status in the WP
eastern vagrants, eg, two Olive-backed Pipits
Anthus hodgsoni (the third record for Iran). On
19 January, they were birding in Jahad park
(27.26071°N, 56.41677°E), 16 km east of Bandar
Abbas, when Mattias spotted a drongo. Magnus
and Per Øystein were involved in the discovery of
the rst Ashy Drongo for Oman (Klunderud et al
2016; plate 28) so identication was straightfor-
ward (plate 27). The bird was still around in the
same trees when Magnus and Mattias again visited
Jahad Park on 26 January. The record was accepted
as the second for Iran (Khaleghizadeh et al 2017).
Description
The description is essentially based on the photo-
graphs.
SIZE & SHAPE Obvious drongo with vertical stance when
perched on exposed branches. Medium-sized with evi-
dent long built particularly due to long, deeply forked tail
hanging down.
HEAD Crown, nape and cheek glossy black with slight
bluish tinge, while throat and area around throat dull
greyish black without any gloss.
UPPERPARTS & WING Upperwing-coverts glossy black
with slight bluish tinge. At least outer primaries with
brownish tinge.
UNDERPARTS Breast, belly and vent matt, dull greyish-
black without any gloss. Belly with some small, faint off-
white tips to central feathers (very scant and hardly
visible). Undertail-coverts similarly matt, dull greyish-
black or perhaps very slightly paler but with obvious
whitish feather tips creating spotted area.
TAIL Long and narrow and seemingly deeply forked to
roughly half its length. Underside of tail essentially black
or dark grey but exact tone not obvious.
22-23 Ashy Drongo / Grijze Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus, Minab, Hormozgan, Iran, 19 February 2014 (Leander
Khil). First for Iran. 24 Ashy Drongo / Grijze Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus, Dargas, Raask, Sistan and Baluchestan,
Iran, 26 January 2017 (Ehsan Talebi). Third for Iran. 25 Ashy Drongo / Grijze Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus, Abu
Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 17 December 2006 (Nick Moran). First for UAE and ‘greater’ WP.

25
Ashy Drongos in Iran in 2014-18 and status in the WP
TABLE 1 Records of Ashy Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus in ‘greater’ Western Palearctic (Moran 2007, Klunderud et al
2016, Eriksen & Victor 2017, Haas 2017, Khaleghizadeh et al 2017, Pedersen et al 2017, Iran Bird Records Committee
2018; this paper)
Iran (6/7)
19 February 2014, Minab, Hormozgan
19-26 January 2016, Jahad park, Bandar Abbas, Hormoz-
gan
26 January 2017, Dargas, Raask, Sistan and Baluchestan,
two
24 March 2017, Tiss, Chabahar, Sistan and Baluchestan
14 November 2017, Mellat park, Minab, Hormozgan
7 December 2018, Tang-e Takab, Behbahan, Khuzestan
Israel (1)
3-15 December 2014, Gan Shmuel, Hefer valley
Kuwait(3/4)
3-10 April 2010, Jahra farms
7 December 2010 to at least 1 January 2011, Jahra farms,
maximum of two on 7-16 December
5 February to 4 April 2013, Fintas park, Kuwait city
Oman (1)
24-28 November 2014, Qatbit
United Arab Emirates (10)
16-19 December 2006, Abu Dhabi
29 February to 20 March 2008, Ain al-Fayda, Al Ani
21 December 2009, Al Warsan water treatment plant;
14-15 January and 2-17 March 2010, Safa park, Dubai
(probably same individual)
27-28 October 2011, Safa park, Dubai
18 February to 26 March 2012, Ain al-Fayda park, Al Ain
3 January to 14 March 2014, Mushrif National Park,
Dubai
3-4 December 2014, Wadi Bih-Parr’s farm, Ras Al Khai-
mah
1 January to 7 February 2015, Al Mamzar park, Dubai
31 October to 28 November 2015, Al Mamzar park,
Dubai
29-30 October 2016, Al Mamzar park, Dubai
BARE PARTS Eye strikingly red. Fairly short bill blackish.
No white rictal spot at base of bill. Leg blackish.
BEHAVIOUR Perching on open, horizontal branches at
c 5 m height with wide view. Frequently ying out to
catch insects in air, often returning to same branch.
Records in 2017-18
In 2017-18, four more sightings of ve individuals
(all photographed) were recorded in Iran, includ-
ing three birds in Sistan and Baluchestan in January
and March 2017 and others in Hormozgan in
November 2017 and in Khuzestan in December
2018 (Iran Bird Records Committee 2018; table 1,
plate 24).
Identication
Although moult in drongos is not fully understood,
the brownish primaries indicate that the 2016 bird
was an immature individual, probably a rst-win-
ter. The worn remiges and rectrices (which would
be fresher in adults) in the 2014 bird also indicate
a rst-winter individual. The neat pale tips to the
undertail-coverts are indicative of rst-winter birds
(cf Moran 2007, Ayé et al 2012). In both cases,
Black Drongo can be ruled out based on especial-
ly differences involving the underparts rather than
upperparts. The observed individuals showed a
glossy, black nape and cheek contrasting with matt
greyish breast and belly. An immature Black would
show an obvious black throat and breast with a
slight gloss apparently contrasting with a pale bel-
ly, with extensive off-white fringing. The belly is
thus the palest area of an immature Black, while
the spotted undertail-coverts are the palest area of
an Ashy. The at rst glance matt, greyish breast
(Ashy) or near-glossy black breast (Black) gives a
very good specic indication. Also, the lack of a
white spot at the base of the bill is a good indica-
tion of Ashy. Finally, the fairly bright red eye of
Ashy is diagnostic, because, although adult Black
can show reddish eyes as well, this would be high-
ly unlikely in a rst-winter bird (cf Grimmett el al
1998, Moran 2007, Porter & Aspinall 2010, Ayé et
al 2012, Rasmussen & Anderton 2012).
Taxonomy
Jønsson et al (2016) proposed to move the western
drongos into the genus Edolius. DNA studies place
Ashy Drongo closest to African drongos, indicating
dispersal from Africa c 10 million years ago
(Pasquet et al 2007). Gill & Donsker (2018) and
del Hoyo & Collar (2016) recognize 15 or 16 sub-
species, respectively, but emphasize that many are
not clearly differentiated. Most mainland subspe-
cies are highly migratory.
Distribution and movements
Ashy Drongo breeds in the Himalayas from eastern
Afghanistan east over India, Nepal, Bhutan and
China through south-eastern Asia to Sumatra, Java,
Borneo, Bali, Lombok and south-western Philip-
pines. Northern populations winter south to tropi-
cal latitudes. Generally, the species is common in
its range although continuing habitat loss in Indo-
nesia may threaten some island subspecies (Roca-

26
Ashy Drongos in Iran in 2014-18 and status in the WP
26 Ashy Drongos / Grijze Drongo’s Dicrurus leucophaeus, Jahra farms, Kuwait, 10 December 2010 (Mike Pope). One
of two records of two individuals together in the WP. 27 Ashy Drongo / Grijze Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus, Jahad
park, Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan, Iran, 19 January 2016 (Magnus Ullman). Second for Iran. 28 Ashy Drongo / Grijze
Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus, Qatbit, Oman, 24 November 2014 (Magnus Ullman). First for Oman.

27
mora & Yeatman-Berthelot 2018). Occur rence to
the north of its range is extremely rare. There are
two records from the far east of Russia, both in
Primorye, on 7 June 2011 and on 3 and 16 July
2016 (Gluschenko & Korobov 2012, Volkovskaya-
Kurdyukova 2016), and also two in Mongolia, at
Terelj National Park on 11 September 2011 and at
Khalkhgol on 5 June 2014 (https://tinyurl.com/
yalay5sc). All these records refer to the subspecies
D l leucogenis. The westernmost subspecies D l
longicaudatus breeds from north-eastern Afghani-
stan and northern Pakistan to the southern Hima-
layas, usually wintering in southern India and Sri
Lanka (Rocamora & Yeatman-Berthelot 2018), so
all records in the WP most likely refer to this sub-
species.
Status in the WP
Up to the end of 2018, there have been 21 records
(involving 23 individuals) of this species in the
‘greater’ WP, including 10 in the United Arab
Emirates (UAE), six in Iran, three in Kuwait and one
each in Israel and Oman (table 1, plate 25-26, 28;
cf Dutch Birding 32: 213, plate 286, 2010, 33: 55,
plate 61, 2011, 35: 130, plate 149, 2013, 37: 49,
plate 64, 2015). The rst bird in the WP was found
as recently as 2006 in the UAE (Moran 2007; plate
25) but since 2008 it was recorded annually in the
region: 2008 (one), 2009 (one), 2010 (three), 2011
(one), 2012 (one), 2013 (one), 2014 (ve), 2015
(two), 2016 (two), 2017 (four) and 2018 (one). In
2014 alone, ve individuals were found in four
countries, including rst records for Israel, Iran
and Oman. Almost all birds were found in the au-
tumn-winter period (by date of discovery): October
(three), November (two), December (seven),
January (ve) and February (four). There are single
records in March and April (table 1). Most records
concern long-staying individuals (mean 18 days;
range 1-87); six birds stayed between one and
three months. The period and time of occurrence
suggest that most of them arrive to winter. Pedersen
et al (2017) suggest that some records in the UAE
may have concerned returning indi vidual(s), eg a
bird at Al Mamzar park, Dubai, in October 2016
visited the same tree as the 2015 bird (cf table 1).
Several drongos in the WP remain unidentied,
eg, 10 in UAE, at least four in Iran and one in
Yemen (Browne 2015, Pedersen et al 2017; pers
obs). Most of them probably concerned Black
Drongos or Ashy Drongos but the occurrence of
other species cannot be ruled out. The rst record
of a drongo in Arabia, at Aden, Yemen, on 28 Oc-
to ber 1946 was considered likely to have been a
Fork-tailed Drongo D adsimilis (Blair et al 2017).
However, the published description (Browne
2015) does not correspond with this species in
four points: 1 paler edgings were not noticed on
ight feathers; 2 legs were described as palish
brown whereas all species of drongo have black
legs; 3 length was estimated at 19-20 cm whereas
that of Fork-tailed is 23-26 cm; and 4 some illustra-
tions show a more deeply forked tail than appears
in the sketch in Browne (2015). So the possibility
of a similar drongo species could not be fully ex-
cluded (Mitchell 2017).
Conclusion
It is quite intriguing that up to 2006 no Ashy
Drongo had ever been recorded in the WP, while
over 20 individuals were recorded in the 10 years
since. What factors could contribute to this?
Klunderud et al (2016) suggest that the increase
may possibly be due to the recent availability of
suitable habitat in the Middle East, such as farmed
areas, suburban parks, golf courses and planta-
tions of mature watered trees. Most Ashy Drongos
in the WP were recorded in such habitats. In the
same period, an increase was also recorded in the
number of Black Drongos in the Middle East (eg,
Khaleghizadeh et al 2017, Pedersen et al 2017,
pers obs), whose range is very similar to Ashy.
Two areas seem to be the most suitable to nd
an Ashy Drongo in the WP: parks in Dubai (espe-
cially Al Mamzar park) where it was recorded al-
most annually in recent years (cf table 1), and also
Mellat park or suburban areas in Minab in south-
ern Iran, where only during the last four years two
Ashy and another four unidentied drongos were
found (LK & MU pers obs). Note that these two
spots are only c 250 km from each other although,
of course, separated by the Persian Gulf.
Acknowledgements
For providing information and photographs our thanks
go to Jem Babbington, Peter Browne, Abolghasem Khale-
ghizadeh, Nick Moran, Tommy Pedersen, Mike Pope,
Richard Porter and Ehsan Talebi.
Samenvatting
Grijze DronGo in iran in 2014-18 en status in De WP Dit
artikel documenteert de eerste gevallen van Grijze
Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus voor Iran en bespreekt het
voorkomen van deze soort in de ‘uitgebreide WP’. Het
eerste Iraanse geval was in Minab, Hormuzgan, op 19
februari 2014 en het tweede in het Jahad-park, Bandar
Abbas, Hormuzgan, op 19-26 januari 2016. In 2017-18
waren er nog vier waarnemingen (vijf individuen) in Iran.
Tot en met 2018 waren er 21 gevallen (23 individuen),
waaronder 10 in de Verenigde Arabi sche Emiraten, zes in
Iran, drie in Koeweit en elk één in Israël en Oman (tabel
1). Het eerste geval in de WP was pas in 2006 maar
Ashy Drongos in Iran in 2014-18 and status in the WP

28
Ashy Drongos in Iran in 2014-18 and status in the WP
sindsdien waren er vrijwel jaarlijks gevallen. Vrijwel alle
vogels werden gevonden in het najaar en de winter en de
meeste bleven langdurig. De toename heeft mogelijk te
maken met de recente beschikbaarheid van geschikte
habitats in het Midden-Oosten, zoals akkerland, parken
in voorsteden, golfterreinen en aanplantingen met in-
middels oude, goed van water voor ziene bomen.
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Leander Khil, Nationalparksiedlung 59/4/9, 7132 Frauenkirchen, Austria (leander@khil.net)
MagnusUllman,Triangeln13,27238Brantevik,Sweden(ullman.apus@telia.com)
ŁukaszŁawicki,West-PomeranianNatureSociety,Pionierów1/1,74-100Gryno,Poland
(izuza@interia.pl)