Cisticolas (pronounced sis-TIC-olas) are a genus of very small insectivorous birds formerly classified in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae, but now usually considered to be in the separate family Cisticolidae, along with other southern warbler genera. They are believed to be quite closely related to the swallows and martins, the bulbuls and the white-eyes. The genus contains about 50 species, of which only two are not found in Africa: one in Madagascar and the other from Asia to Australasia. They are also sometimes called fantail-warblers due to their habit of conspicuously flicking their tails, or tailor-birds because of their nests.
Taxonomy
The genus was erected by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1829. The type species, by tautonymy, is Sylvia cisticola Temminck, 1820, now considered as a subspecies of Sylvia juncidis Rafinesque 1810, the zitting cisticola.12 The name Cisticola is from Ancient Greek kisthos, "rock-rose", and Latin colere, "to dwell".3
Range and habitat
Cisticolas are widespread through the Old World's tropical and sub-tropical regions. Africa, which is home to almost all species, is the most likely ancestral home of the group. Cisticolas are usually non-migratory with most species attached to and often distinguishable by their habitats.
A variety of open habitats are occupied. These include wetlands, moist or drier grasslands, open or rocky mountain slopes, and human-modified habitats such as road verges, cultivation, weedy areas or pasture. The species preferring wetlands can be found at the edges of mangrove, or in papyrus, common reed, or typha swamps. Cisticolas are generally quite common within what remains of their preferred habitats.
The zitting cisticola (or fan-tailed warbler) is widespread throughout the tropics and even breeds in southern Europe. It has occurred on a few occasions as a vagrant to England.
Description
Because of their small size (about 10 cm) and brown plumage, they are more easily heard than seen. The similar plumage of many species can make them hard to identify, particularly in winter when they seldom emerge from their grasses. Many African species, in particular, are difficult to distinguish other than by their calls. Thirteen species are named for their calls, from "singing" and "chirping" to "bubbling" and "siffling".
Behaviour
Male cisticolas are polygamous. The female builds a discreet nest deep in the grasses, often binding living leaves into the soft fabric of felted plant down, cobweb, and grass: a cup shape for the zitting cisticola with a canopy of tied-together leaves or grasses overhead for camouflage, a full dome for the golden-headed cisticola. The average clutch is about 4 eggs, which take about 2 weeks to hatch. The parasitic weaver is a specialist parasite of cisticolas and prinias.
In summer, male cisticolas of smaller species make spectacular display flights while larger species perch in prominent places to sing lustily. Despite his size and well-camouflaged, brown-streaked plumage, the male golden-headed cisticola of Australia and southern Asia produces a small, brilliant splash of golden-yellow colour in the dappled sunlight of a reed bed.
List of species
The genus contains 53 species:4
| Image | Common Name | Scientific Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red-faced cisticola | Cisticola erythrops | Sub-Saharan Africa (except southern and Horn of Africa) | |
| Singing cisticola | Cisticola cantans | Sub-Saharan Africa | |
| Whistling cisticola | Cisticola lateralis | African tropical rainforest | |
| Trilling cisticola | Cisticola woosnami | Zambia, Tanzania, DR Congo, western Kenya | |
| Chattering cisticola | Cisticola anonymus | central Africa | |
| Bubbling cisticola | Cisticola bulliens | western Angola | |
| Hunter's cisticola | Cisticola hunteri | Kenya and northern Tanzania | |
| Chubb's cisticola | Cisticola chubbi | Western High Plateau and Albertine rift montane forests | |
| - | Kilombero cisticola | Cisticola bakerorum | Tanzania |
| - | Black-lored cisticola | Cisticola nigriloris | Tanzania |
| Rock-loving cisticola | Cisticola aberrans | Sub-Saharan Africa | |
| - | Huambo cisticola | Cisticola bailunduensis | Angola |
| Rattling cisticola | Cisticola chiniana | Sub-Saharan Africa (except western and southern Africa) | |
| - | Boran cisticola | Cisticola bodessa | Eritrea, Ethiopia and Kenya |
| Churring cisticola | Cisticola njombe | Tanzania and northern Malawi | |
| Ashy cisticola | Cisticola cinereolus | East Africa | |
| - | Tana River cisticola | Cisticola restrictus | Kenya |
| Tinkling cisticola | Cisticola rufilatus | central-southern Africa | |
| Grey-backed cisticola | Cisticola subruficapilla | Namibia and South Africa | |
| Wailing cisticola | Cisticola lais | southern and eastern Afromontane | |
| - | Lynes's cisticola | Cisticola distinctus | Kenya |
| Rufous-winged cisticola | Cisticola galactotes | southeastern Africa | |
| Winding cisticola | Cisticola marginatus | north/central Sub-Saharan Africa | |
| - | Coastal cisticola | Cisticola haematocephalus | coastal East Africa |
| - | White-tailed cisticola | Cisticola anderseni | Tanzania |
| - | Ethiopian cisticola | Cisticola lugubris | Ethiopia |
| Luapula cisticola | Cisticola luapula | Zambia and adjacent areas | |
| Chirping cisticola | Cisticola pipiens | Zambia, Angola and southern DR Congo | |
| - | Carruthers's cisticola | Cisticola carruthersi | Rwenzori and northern Lake Victoria region |
| Levaillant's cisticola | Cisticola tinniens | southern Sub-Saharan Africa | |
| Stout cisticola | Cisticola robustus | western and eastern Afromontane | |
| Aberdare cisticola | Cisticola aberdare | Kenya | |
| Croaking cisticola | Cisticola natalensis | Sub-Saharan Africa | |
| Red-pate cisticola | Cisticola ruficeps | Lake Chad to Eritrea and northern Uganda | |
| Dorst's cisticola | Cisticola guinea | western Africa | |
| Tiny cisticola | Cisticola nana | East Africa | |
| - | Short-winged cisticola | Cisticola bracxypterus | Sub-Saharan Africa (except southern Africa) |
| - | Rufous cisticola | Cisticola rufus | western Africa |
| Foxy cisticola | Cisticola troglodytes | western CAR to Ethiopia | |
| Neddicky | Cisticola fulvicapilla | southern half of Sub-Saharan Africa | |
| Long-tailed cisticola | Cisticola angusticauda | Zambia and Tanzania | |
| Black-tailed cisticola | Cisticola melanurus | northern Angola and south-western DRC | |
| Zitting cisticola | Cisticola juncidis | Afrotropics, southern Palearctic and northern Australia | |
| - | Socotra cisticola | Cisticola haesitatus | Socotra |
| Madagascar cisticola | Cisticola cherina | Seychelles and Madagascar | |
| Desert cisticola | Cisticola aridulus | Arid regions of Sub-Saharan Africa | |
| Cloud cisticola | Cisticola textrix | Angola, western Zambia and southern Africa | |
| Black-backed cisticola | Cisticola eximius | sparsely present across the Sudan (region), the Congo and western Kenya | |
| Dambo cisticola | Cisticola dambo | the Congo, southern DRC, northern Angola and Zambia | |
| Pectoral-patch cisticola | Cisticola brunnescens | Adamawa Massif, Gabon, the Congo and highlands of East Africa | |
| Pale-crowned cisticola | Cisticola cinnamomeus | the Congo, Tanzania to eastern South Africa | |
| Wing-snapping cisticola | Cisticola ayresii | highlands of southern Africa | |
| Golden-headed cisticola | Cisticola exiles | Indomalaya and western Oceania |
Further reading
- Nguembock B.; Fjeldsa J.; Tillier A.; Pasquet E. (2007): A phylogeny for the Cisticolidae (Aves: Passeriformes) based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data, and a re-interpretation of a unique nest-building specialization. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 42: 272–286.
- Ryan, Peter (2006). Family Cisticolidae (Cisticolas and allies). Pp. 378–492 in del Hoyo J., Elliott A. & Christie D.A. (2006) Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 11. Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers Lynx Edicions, Barcelona ISBN 978-84-96553-06-4
External links
- Cisticola videos on the Internet Bird Collection
References
Kaup, Johann Jakob (1829). Skizzirte Entwickelungs-Geschichte und natürliches System der europäischen Thierwelt (in German). Vol. c. 1. Darmstadt: Carl Wilhelm Leske. p. 119. /wiki/Johann_Jakob_Kaup ↩
Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1986). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 11. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 84. /wiki/Ernst_Mayr ↩
Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 109. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4. 978-1-4081-2501-4 ↩
Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2024). "Grassbirds, Donacobius, tetrakas, cisticolas, allies". IOC World Bird List Version 14.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 10 November 2024. /wiki/Frank_Gill_(ornithologist) ↩