Bird 44 – Spangled Drongo

Today, by special request, we have yet another bird with a ridiculous name:

The Spangled Drongo (Dicrurus bracteatus).

They’re a rather odd looking bird, what with their blood-red eyes, iridescent back wings, forked tail, and spangles. What a sight!

But you’re probably more familiar with the word ‘drongo’ as Australian slang for someone who is stupid or incompetent. Now, while the word does indeed originate with our bird, is the Spangled Drongo a drongo? To that I say, nay. The way the word entered the lexicon actually traces back to the 1920s and a racehorse called Drongo who was named after the bird. In 37 race starts Drongo never manage to win. For some reason though it was popular with punters, so its name gradually came to mean someone who was slow or clumsy, and the word evolved from there.

So it was the horse, the dopey horse that blackened this black bird’s good name. Typical horse, making a bird look the fool, when really with its red eyes and black feathers it should be known as a harbinger of doom along with its corvus brethren (no relation). We renounce all horses, and banish them from the glorious Bird Empire of the Sky.

Go forth Spangled Drongo, go forth and be spangled and fabulous.

24/09/2018