Alternative name: Lazy Cisticola
- Cisticola aberrans
Identification
Length 13-15 cm, mass about 14 g. Crown and nape russet; face, lores and eyebrow off-white; ear coverts brown. Back and rump olive-grey, wings brown. Underparts buff, paler on throat and lower belly, and darker on flanks. Bill dark horn with pinkish base, eyes brown, and legs and feet pinkish. Important distinguishing features are the long tail (carried higher than other Cisticolas), plain back, and pale eyebrow.
Distribution
Sub-Saharan Africa.
Taxonomy
Cisticola aberrans has eight subspecies:1
- C. a. admiralis
- Guinea to Sierra Leone, Mali and southern Ghana
- C. a. petrophilus
- Northern Nigeria and Cameroon east to northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, southern South Sudan, and northern Uganda
- C. a. bailunduensis
- Central Angola
- C. a. emini
- C. a. nyika
- Southwestern Tanzania to Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique
- C. a. lurio
- Malawi (east of Rift Valley) and adjacent north-western Mozambique
- C. a. aberrans
- Northeastern South Africa and south eastern Botswana
- C. a. minor
- Lowlands of southern Mozambique to south-eastern eSwatini and southeastern South Africa
C. a. emini is split as a separate species by Sibley & Monroe4 and Gill & Wright2. They name this taxon C. emini, Rock-loving Cisticola, and the remaining subspecies are C. aberrans, Lazy Cisticola.
Habitat
Woodland, thicket and rocky hillsides.
Behaviour
Usually found singly or in pairs; sometimes in small family groups. Forages in rocks or rank vegetation for insects. This species generally frequents areas with good cover, but is inquisitive and is fairly easily seen as it often uses fairly exposed perches when disturbed.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill F & Wright M. 2008. Birds of the World: Recommended English Names. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ, USA. 2006. ISBN 9780691128276 Update (2008) downloaded from http://worldbirdnames.org/names.html.
- Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ & Ryan PG (eds) 2005. Robert's Birds of Southern Africa, 7th edition. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 0620340533
- Sibley CG & Monroe BL. 1996. Birds of the World, on diskette, Windows version 2.0. Charles G. Sibley, Santa Rosa, CA, USA.
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
