Alternative name: Tink-tink Cisticola
- Cisticola textrix
Identification
Length 9-10 cm (3½-4 in); mass 8-13 g
Breeding Adult: The upper parts are brown, streaked blackish. The tail is very short, the upper side being black with a white tip. The under parts are mostly whitish, with brown streaks on the sides of the breast and buffy-white flanks. The eyes are pale brown, and the legs and feet are pinkish brown.
Non-breeding Adult: Similar to the breeding adult, but the upper parts are more rusty, the crown is more heavily streaked, and the tail longer.
Similar species
Difficult to tell from Wing-snapping Cisticola unless calling.
Distribution
Southern and eastern South Africa, western eSwatini, western Lesotho. There are also isolated populations in Angola, south-western Democratic Republic of Congo and western Zambia.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Cisticola textrix has five subspecies:
- C. t. textrix: breast and flanks boldly streaked
- Southern and south-western South Africa (west of Algoa Bay)
- C. t. bulubulu:
- Highlands of southern Angola
- C. t. anselli:
- Highlands of eastern Angola and north-western Zambia
- C. t. marleyi:
- North-eastern KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) and extreme southern Mozambique
- C. t. major:
- South Africa beween 25°E and 32°E, western Lesotho and western [eSwatini
Habitat
Short grassland with bare patches between grass tufts. Also fynbos patches with short restiods in the Western Cape.
Behaviour
Usually solitary.
Diet
Forages on the ground and in grass tufts for arthropods.
Breeding
The nest is a ball of grass with a side entrance. It is built close to the ground on a grass tuft. Two to four eggs are laid (August to March in South Africa).
References
- Hockey, PAR, WRJ Dean, and PG Ryan, eds. 2005. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 978-0620340533
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Cloud Cisticola. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Cloud_Cisticola
