• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Where premium quality meets exceptional value. ZEISS Conquest HDX.

Winding Cisticola - BirdForum Opus

Disambiguation: Winding Cisticola has recently been split. For other forms previously included in this see Rufous-winged Cisticola, Coastal Cisticola, Ethiopian Cisticola, and Luapula Cisticola

Subspecies amphilectus
Photo © by whiteheadedvulture
Accra, Ghana, 8 March 2020
Cisticola marginatus

Identification

Length 12-14 cm (4¾-5½ in), mass 10-15 g.

A 'Black-backed' Cisticola with rufous wing panels. It has a grey tail with prominent sub-terminal spots and white tips on the rectrices.

Distribution

Sub-Saharan Africa
Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegambia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi

Taxonomy

Rufous-winged Cisticola, Coastal Cisticola, Ethiopian Cisticola, and Luapula Cisticola have all been treated as subspecies of Winding Cisticola in the past[2, 3, 4, 5, 6] - 6.

Subspecies

Five subspecies are recognized[1]:

  • Northern Nigeria east to southwestern Sudan
  • C. m. marginatus:
  • central Sudan (White Nile Valley), South Sudan, western Ethiopia, and northern Uganda
  • C. m. nyansae:
  • C. m. suahelicus:


Habitat

Mainly wetlands.

Behaviour

Usually singly or in pairs.

Diet

The forage in undergrowth for insects and invertebrates such as caterpillars, grasshoppers and mantids.

Breeding

Monogamous and territorial. The nest is a ball of dry grass with a side entrance, usually built above water in a marsh. Their clutch contains two to four eggs which are incubated for about 12 days. There may be a second brood in suitable areas.

References

  1. 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/
  2. Gill F & Wright M. 2006. Birds of the World: Recommended English Names. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ, USA. ISBN 9780691128276
  3. Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ & Ryan PG (eds) 2005. Robert's Birds of Southern Africa, 7th edition. John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town, South Africa. ISBN 0620340533
  4. Hustler, K. 2001. The breeding biology of the Black-backed Cisticola in north-west Zimbabwe with notes on song and specific ststus. Honeyguide 47, 25-36.
  5. Lepage D. 2008. Avibase. Search for "Cisticola galactotes" downloaded June 2008.
  6. Ryan PG, Dean WRJ, Madge SC & Pearson DJ. 2006. Family Cisticolidae (Cisticolas and allies): species accounts. Pp. 420-490 In: del Hoyo J, Elliott A & Christie DA eds. Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 11. Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ISBN 849655306X
  7. Sinclair I & Ryan P. 2003. Birds of Africa south of the Sahara. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0620207299
  8. Ryan, P. (2020). Winding Cisticola (Cisticola marginatus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/58622 on 9 March 2020)

Recommended Citation

External Links

Search the Gallery using the scientific name:

Search the Gallery using the common name:

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.

Back
Top