Rattling Cisticola

The rattling cisticola (''Cisticola chiniana'') is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae which is native to Africa south of the equator, and parts of East Africa. It is a common to abundant species in open savanna and scrubland habitats, whether in arid, moist or upland regions. Especially during summer, it is highly conspicuous due to its strident and repetitive call-notes from prominent perches.

Range

It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, DRC, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Habitat

Its natural habitat is arid, mesic or moist savannas and woodland, often dominated by thorn trees or thorn shrub (''Dichrostachys'', etc.). It is, however, also commonly found in miombo and mopane woodland, and is one of the commonest bird species on the Mozambican coastal plain. It is also present in the Eastern Highlands and the East African uplands below 2,000 m. In addition it utilizes some ecotones including edges of cultivation, fringes of dense woodland and woodland fringing the Okavango delta.

Tinkling cisticola replaces it in stunted broad-leaved woodland and dry deciduous woodland on sandy substrates, while various ''Cisticola'' species replace it in marshy situations. It co-occurs with various ''Prinia'' species.

Habits

Especially in summer, much time is spent calling prominently from the top of a tree or bush. The strident call can be rendered as "chee-chee chichi-chirrrrr", but varies somewhat from individual to individual.

Nesting

Series of eggs, showing variation in background colour and spotting
Breeding occurs during the wet season in spring and summer. They build a ball-shaped nest of very coarse grass blades, which is lined on the inside with fine plant material.

Subspecies

Some seventeen subspecies are accepted:
* ''C. c. simplex'' (Heuglin, 1869) — South Sudan and DRC to Uganda
* ''C. c. fortis'' Lynes, 1930 — Gabon, the Congos and Angola to Zambia
* ''C. c. fricki'' Mearns, 1913 — Ethiopian and northern Kenyan highlands
* ''C. c. humilis'' Madarász, 1904 — eastern Ugandan and western Kenyan highlands
* ''C. c. ukamba'' Lynes, 1930 — highlands of central Kenya and northern Tanzania
* ''C. c. heterophrys'' Oberholser, 1906 — Kenyan and Tanzanian coastal plains
* ''C. c. victoria'' Lynes, 1930 — eastern circumference of Lake Victoria
* ''C. c. fischeri'' Reichenow, 1891 — Tanzania
* ''C. c. keithi'' Parkes, 1987 — Tanzania
* ''C. c. mbeya'' Parkes, 1987 — Tanzania
* ''C. c. emendatus'' Vincent, 1944 — southern Tanzania, Malawi and northern Mozambique
* ''C. c. procerus'' W.K.H.Peters, 1868 — eastern Zambia to central Mozambique
* ''C. c. bensoni'' Traylor, 1964 — southern Zambia
* ''C. c. smithersi'' B.P.Hall, 1956 — upper Zambezi river region
* ''C. c. chiniana'' (A.Smith, 1843) — central plateau of southern Africa
* ''C. c. frater'' Reichenow, 1916 — Namibia
* ''C. c. campestris'' Gould, 1845 — eastern coastal plain of southern Africa

Gallery

File:Rattling Cisticola (Cisticola chiniana) (6017305508).jpg, ''C. c. campestris'' in the Kruger National Park. The black gape is evident while singing.
File:Rattling cisticola, Cisticola chiniana, at Marakele National Park, Limpopo, South Africa (23549328813).jpg, The nominate subspecies in Marakele National Park
File:Rattling cisticola (Cisticola chiniana humilis).jpg, ''C. c. humilis'', Soysambu Conservancy, Kenya
File:Rattling cisticola (Cisticola chiniana smithersi).jpg, ''C. c. smithersi'', Matetsi Safari Area, Zimbabwe

References

External links

* Rattling cisticola
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds

rattling cisticola
Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa
rattling cisticola
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot

{{Cisticolidae-stub