- Cisticola chiniana
Identification
- Large size
- Rufous cap
- Streaked back
- No rusty wing-panel
- Long tail with pale feather tips
Distribution
Eastern, central and southern Africa: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, eSwatini, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Taxonomy
Cisticola chiniana has 17 subspecies:[1]
- C. c. simplex - southern South Sudan, northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and northern Uganda
- C. c. fricki - Southern Ethiopia to northern Kenya
- C. c. humilis - Western Kenya, north-eastern Uganda and northern Tanzania
- C. c. ukamba - Highlands of eastern Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania
- C. c. victoria - South-western Kenya and adjacent Tanzania
- C. c. heterophrys - Coastal Kenya and Tanzania
- C. c. fischeri - North-central Tanzania
- C. c. keithi - South-central Tanzania
- C. c. mbeya - Southern Tanzania
- C. c. emendatus - South-eastern Tanzania to northern Mozambique, Malawi and extreme eastern Zambia
- C. c. procerus - Extreme southern Malawi and northern Mozambique (Tete)
- C. c. chiniana - Zimbabwe to western Mozambique, north-eastern South Africa and south-eastern Botswana
- C. c. fortis - Northern Angola to Zambia, southern Congo, Gabon and southern DRC
- C. c. frater - Central Namibia
- C. c. bensoni - Southern Zambia
- C. c. smithersi - Western Zimbabwe to north-western Botswana, south-western Zambia, northern Namibia and southern Angola
- C. c. campestris - Southern coastal Mozambique to eastern South Africa
Habitat
Its natural habitat is dry savanna.
Behaviour
An aggressive bird that often mobs predators. Often sits out to sing on open perches. Song is variable, but typical pattern is a couple of “che” notes followed by a long, rattling trill.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Rattling Cisticola. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Rattling_Cisticola
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
