Cisticola | |
---|---|
Zitting cisticola (Cisticola juncidis) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Cisticolidae |
Genus: | Cisticola Kaup, 1829 |
Type species | |
Sylvia cisticola [1] Temminck, 1820 | |
Species | |
see text |
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.
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. [2] [3] The name Cisticola is from Ancient Greek kisthos, "rock-rose", and Latin colere, "to dwell". [4]
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.
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".
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.
The genus contains 53 species: [5]
Image | Common Name | Scientific Name | Distribution |
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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 | |
The grass warblers are small passerine birds belonging to the genus Locustella. Formerly placed in the paraphyletic "Old World warbler" assemblage, they are now considered the northernmost representatives of a largely Gondwanan family, the Locustellidae.
Prinia is a genus of small insectivorous birds belonging to the passerine bird family Cisticolidae. They were at one time classed in the Old World warbler family, Sylviidae.
The family Cisticolidae is a group of about 160 warblers, small passerine birds found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They were formerly included within the Old World warbler family Sylviidae.
The common grasshopper warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds across much of temperate Europe and the western Palearctic. It is migratory, wintering in north and west Africa.
The zitting cisticola or streaked fantail warbler is a widely distributed Old World warbler whose breeding range includes southern Europe, Africa, and southern Asia down to northern Australia. A small bird found mainly in grasslands, it is best identified by its rufous rump; in addition it lacks any gold on the collar and the brownish tail is tipped with white. During the breeding season males have a zigzagging flight display accompanied by regular "zitting" calls that have been likened to repeated snips of a scissor. They build their pouch nest suspended within a clump of grass.
The croaking cisticola is an Old World warbler in the family Cisticolidae. It is a resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara. The croaking cisticola is an insectivorous passerine that is found in rank grassland habitats, often near swamps or water. 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, cobwebs, and grass. The croaking cisticola's nest is a ball shape with a side entrance; 2-4 eggs are laid.
The tawny-flanked prinia is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Prinia in the family Cisticolidae, a family of Old World warblers. It is widespread and common in most parts of Africa south of the Sahara. The plain prinia of southern Asia was formerly included in this species but is now usually considered to be a separate species.
The grey-backed camaroptera is a small bird in the family Cisticolidae. This bird is a resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Recent studies suggest this species and the green-backed camaroptera may be the same species.
The golden-headed cisticola, also known as the bright-capped cisticola, is a species of warbler in the family Cisticolidae, found in Australia and thirteen Asian countries. Growing to 9–11.5 cm (3.5–4.5 in) long, it is usually brown and cream in colour, but has a different appearance during the mating season, with a gold-coloured body and a much shorter tail. It is an omnivore and frequently makes a variety of vocalizations. Known as the "finest tailor of all birds", it constructs nests out of plants and spider threads. It mates in the rainy season. It has a very large range and population, which is thought to be increasing.
Clamator is a genus of large brood-parasitic cuckoos with crests and graduated tails.
The apalises are small passerine birds belonging to the genus Apalis, in the family Cisticolidae. They are found in forest, woodlands and scrub across most parts of sub-Saharan Africa. They are slender birds with long tails and have a slender bill for catching insects. They are typically brown, grey or green above and several species have brightly coloured underparts. Males and females are usually similar in appearance but the males are sometimes brighter.
The neddicky, or piping cisticola, is a small passerine bird in the family Cisticolidae, which is native to Africa, southwards of the equator. Its strongholds are the light woodlands and shrublands of the subtropics and temperate regions of southern Africa. The common name, neddicky, is the Afrikaans name for the species.
The wedge-tailed jery is a small bird endemic to the east of Madagascar. The species has been the cause of some taxonomic confusion, it was originally placed with the jeries in the genus Neomixis (Cisticolidae) before being placed in its own monotypic genus Hartertula, but still considered close to Neomixis. Recent research indicates it is part of an endemic Malagasy radiation currently known as the Malagasy warblers.
The eremomelas are a genus, Eremomela, of passerines in the cisticola family Cisticolidae. The genus was previously placed with the larger Old World warbler family Sylviidae prior to that genus being broken up into several families. The genus contains eleven species, all of which are found in sub-Saharan Africa. They occupy a range of habitats, from arid scrub to lowland tropical forest. They are intermediate in appearance between crombecs and apalis, and measure between 8.5 to 12 cm (3.3–4.7 in) in length. The sexes are alike in size and plumage.
The little grassbird is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. It is found in Australia and in West Papua, Indonesia. These sexually monomorphic birds are found in reed beds, rushes, lignum swamps and salt marshes of Southeastern Australia.
Camaroptera is a genus of small passerine birds in the family Cisticolidae that are found in sub-Saharan Africa.
The rock-loving cisticola, also known as the lazy cisticola, is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is widespread throughout sub-Saharan Africa and is usually associated with rocky wooded terrain with interspersed patchy grass tussocks. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the Huambo cisticola.
The black-backed cisticola or black-necked cisticola is a species of passerine bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Burkina Faso, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland and subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland.
The whistling cisticola is a species of bird in the Cisticolidae family. It is native to the African tropical rainforest and adjacent areas. Its natural habitats include subtropical or tropical dry forests, dry savanna, and moist savanna.
The black-tailed cisticola is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae found in Angola and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its natural habitat is dry savanna and the canopy of smaller trees. It forages for insects both in the canopy and on the ground.