The balicassiao (Dicrurus balicassius) is a species of passerine bird in the family Dicruridae. It is endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests.

Description and taxonomy

EBird describes the bird as "A medium-sized, long-tailed bird of lowland and foothill forest in the northern and central Philippines, where it is the only drongo in range. Entirely black with glossy blue upperparts and streaks on the head and neck. Tail flares out at the tip. A white-bellied race of the central Philippines may represent a separate species. Similar to Philippine Drongo-Cuckoo, but larger, with a thicker bill and upturned tail tips. Song is a complex mixture of grating scolds and loud whistles." In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the balicassiao in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in the Philippines. He used the French name Le choucas des Philippines and the Latin Monedula Philippensis. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the balicassiao. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Corvus balicassius and cited Brisson's work. The specific name balicassius is from Balicasiao, the Cebuano word for this bird. This species is now placed in the genus Dicrurus that was introduced by French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816.

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized:

Habitat and conservation status

Its natural habitats at tropical moist lowland primary forest and secondary forest up to 1,200 meters above sea level. The IUCN Red List has assessed this bird as least-concern species as it is still locally common and has a large range despite deforestation in the Philippines