Blue-tailed forest hawk
Unlike many of its relatives, this dragonfly breeds in small forest pools and marshy hill streams rather than open ponds, and tolerates a fair amount of disturbance.
| Where | Hill streams across South and East Asia |
|---|---|
| Size | 29 to 33 mm abdomen length |
| When | April to October |
The thorax is black with a broad apple green stripe on each side, and the abdomen is azure blue on the middle segments while the first two and last three segments stay black. The eyes are dark blue and the face is dark.
It breeds in small ponds and marshy pools linked to hill streams in forested country across South and East Asia, and is more tolerant of habitat disturbance than many forest dwelling dragonflies in the same family.
Traits
Habitat
Woodland
Colour
Black, Blue, Green
Active
Day
To people
Not aggressive towards people; safe to observe at close range.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Abdomen deep violet red with pruinescence concentrated near the base, rather than the extensive azure blue seen across most of the abdomen in the Blue-tailed forest hawk.
Questions
Is the Blue-tailed forest hawk dangerous to people?
Not aggressive towards people; safe to observe at close range.
When can you see the Blue-tailed forest hawk?
The Blue-tailed forest hawk can be seen from April to October, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by Name, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist Licence
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Dragonflies and damselflies›Skimmers›Orthetrum
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.