The winding cisticola (''Cisticola marginatus'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family Cisticolidae. It has a scattered distribution across Africa south of the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

, and north of 11°S.

Taxonomy

The winding cisticola has several

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

: * ''C. m. amphilectus'' Reichenow, 1875 Mauritania and Senegal to Ghana, south-western Cameroon and north-western Angola * ''C. m. zalingei'' Lynes, 1930 northern Nigeria to western Sudan * ''C. m. marginatus'' (Heuglin, 1869) southern Sudan and northern Uganda * ''C. m. nyansae'' Neumann, 1905 central DRCongo to Uganda and Kenya * ''C. m. suahelicus'' Neumann, 1905 south-eastern DRCongo, Tanzania and north-eastern Zambia The

Clements Clement may refer to: People * Clements (surname) Places * Clements, California, U.S. * Clements, Kansas, U.S. * Clements, Maryland, U.S. * Clements, Minnesota, U.S. * Clements, West Virginia, U.S. * Port Clements, British Columbia, Canada Zoo ...

list (2017) and the Howard and Moore list (2014) lump the rufous-winged cisticola, Luapula cisticola,

coastal cisticola The coastal cisticola (''Cisticola haematocephalus''), also known as the umbabird, is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found on the coastal plain of East Africa. Alternate common names are Mombasa black-backed cisticola. Taxo ...

and

Ethiopian cisticola The Ethiopian cisticola (''Cisticola lugubris'') is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in south-central Africa. Alternate common names are Abyssinian black-backed cisticola, and winding cisticola (Ethiopian) (eBird). Tax ...

with the above subspecies as the winding cisticola ''Cisticola galactotes'' (sensu lato). The Clements list (2017) recognizes 11 subspecies.

Habitat

Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

and

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

Gallery

Cisticola marginatus 1869.jpg, ''Cisticola marginatus'' illustrated by Keulemans Cisticola marginatus amphilectus MHNT.jpg, Image:Winding_cisticola.png, Lake Navasha Country Club - Kenya

References

External links

* * winding cisticola Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa winding cisticola Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Cisticolidae-stub