The feathered mimic-- The Racket tailed drongo.

Picture credit: Oriental Bird Club database (taken by Nithin Srinivasamurthy).

I recently sighted this bird, Dicrurus paradiseus for the first time on a bird watching expedition in Coorg. I am familiar with his cousin the Fork-tailed drongo, whose tail always reminds me of a curling handlebar moustache.We were lucky to meet this 'policeman' (kothwal) once again on our drive home. He's called that because of the whistling sound he makes. He's locally also known as Bhimraj or Bhringraj.

His two tail (rackets) are described as appearing as if two bumblebees are in his hot pursuit. But it occured to me that it looked more like the thin plaits of a young school girl running to school. :)

I read this description in the wikipedia and was surprised to see why Nature has made him an expert mimic.

"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."