patricklhoir
Bird lover
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Cisticola? Bangui Central African Republic (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter patricklhoir
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patricklhoir
Bird lover
I was thinking about a Foxy Cisticola - Cisticola troglodytes
Right?
Patrick
Right?
Patrick
patricklhoir
Bird lover
No suggestions?
patricklhoir
Bird lover
This bird must be very difficult to identify.... No specialist to agree or disagree with my opinion?
All cisticolas are best avoided!
Foxy cisticola is said to be quite bright rufous above and appears to have a pale lore/supercilium. This looks better, at a guess, for red-faced cisticola.
Habitat? Near water?
Have you got other photos? - e.g. showing the tail better? A selection of photos always helps.
Foxy cisticola is said to be quite bright rufous above and appears to have a pale lore/supercilium. This looks better, at a guess, for red-faced cisticola.
Habitat? Near water?
Have you got other photos? - e.g. showing the tail better? A selection of photos always helps.
James Lowther
Well-known member
I think part of the problem is that Central African Republic is possibly not a well known avifauna; when you add that to the fact Cisticolas are so difficult then it’s going to be difficult for people to definitively identify.
Anyway, I looked through birds of east Africa and Foxy looks the best candidate, but as above, I’ve no particular knowledge of CAR birds.
Cheers
James
Anyway, I looked through birds of east Africa and Foxy looks the best candidate, but as above, I’ve no particular knowledge of CAR birds.
Cheers
James
patricklhoir
Bird lover
Here are all the pictures I have.
It wasn't near water. I have attached the exact location where I photographed the bird.
Thank you for your replies!
It wasn't near water. I have attached the exact location where I photographed the bird.
Thank you for your replies!
Attachments
As Butty says, Foxy is quite warm above, although I'm not seeing a pale lore on online images. More to the point, there's only one record for CAR (no image) and that was nowhere near Bangui.
On the other hand, Red-faced, as the name suggests, should have a rufous wash on the cheek and also reddish tones on the lores. It also seems to have a uniformly horn-coloured bill.
Other species on the Bangui eBird checklist are Singing, Whistling, Chattering and Siffling. Of these, Singing has a dark bill and a pale lore and a bit of a brow. Whistling looks completely wrong; Chattering has a dark bill and more extensive rufous crown and nape. Siffling is streaked, so is ruled out straight away.
Maybe we should cast the net a bit wider? These Cisticolas all look the same.
On the other hand, Red-faced, as the name suggests, should have a rufous wash on the cheek and also reddish tones on the lores. It also seems to have a uniformly horn-coloured bill.
Other species on the Bangui eBird checklist are Singing, Whistling, Chattering and Siffling. Of these, Singing has a dark bill and a pale lore and a bit of a brow. Whistling looks completely wrong; Chattering has a dark bill and more extensive rufous crown and nape. Siffling is streaked, so is ruled out straight away.
Maybe we should cast the net a bit wider? These Cisticolas all look the same.
patricklhoir
Bird lover
Thank you Andy, I took the same path as yours. Taking into account all the Cisitcolas known from CAR, and that's why I'm alos stuck...
And yes, CAR is not THE place to be for birding at this moment... And also not even well known...
And yes, CAR is not THE place to be for birding at this moment... And also not even well known...
patricklhoir
Bird lover
I found this....
https://ebird.org/species/bubcis1
Looks very similar to the one I photographed. Bubbling Cisticola
https://ebird.org/species/bubcis1
Looks very similar to the one I photographed. Bubbling Cisticola
That's limited to the Congo and Angola, unfortunately.
patricklhoir
Bird lover
Yes, but CAR and particulary Bangui is just next door to DRC...
kb57
Well-known member
I know almost nothing about Cisticolas (the exception being Zitting...) so am in no position to judge, but are there not a number of black bars visible on the underside of the tail feathers? If so, does this not indicate Red-faced? Referring to the eBird pics, Foxy seems to have a dark under-tail.
patricklhoir
Bird lover
You have a point. I will leave it like that and stop searching. Next time I see a Cisticola, I won't take the picture and will close my eyes
Thank you all for your messages and advices.
A number of Cisticola species have those black subterminal bands/half-moons on the under tail, but you're right, Foxy has a different under tail pattern, so we can rule it out. The undertail is worth looking at, as the base colour is quite gingery, with similarly gingery tips at the end of the tail, which would rule out a few species like Singing. Red-faced and Chattering have an undertail that fits, and I haven't found any other possibilities, but it's worth noting that the description of Red-faced on eBird states that it "stands out for its lack of bold colors and markings", which I'm not really seeing here. So it could be Chattering.
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I'd say this bird does stand out for its lack of bold colours and markings. And chattering cisticola appears to be gey above with a contrasting rufous crown - which isn't how this looks.
Hmmm, for some reason I read the description wrong and thought it said that the species stood out for its bold colours. This is perhaps because in most online images, the species shows quite fulvous/tawny underpart coloration. The cheek and lores show similar tones, although this is more pronounced in East Africa, it seems. The crown, on the other hand, is not contrastingly rufous except from the front angle. I thought Chattering is a better match, although I can't explain the pale lower mandible (maybe it's a juvenile?) or the warm tones on the underparts, and I could be wrong.
@MacNara Any experience with these two?
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Hi Andy.
I'm a bit embarrassed that you ask for my opinion. Years ago, Tib gave me and others asking about Cisticolas a lot of patient help. And since he took the trouble to explain his ID, I tried to repay it by paying attention. And hence, I gained enough confidence to sometimes have a stab at some of the commoner east African species. That's all.
But I have no experience of the species which have come up in this thread. After your post, I did spend some time looking around Google photos and in books, so here are a couple of comments as a result of this effort.
The OP bird has (on my screen anyway) a crown and upper back that are the same colour - a slightly rufous brown (although maybe a hint of greyness in the otherwise also rufous brown wings).
Online photos of Chattering (as Butty pointed out) and Bubbling show a grey back and a contrasting rufous crown. Foxy appears to have a rufous crown separated from a brownish back by a clear grey neck, and also to be foxy in colouration underneath. (Also, it's very small, 10cm, and although we can't judge the OP without knowing what the tree is, it gives me the impression of something larger.)
So, the pattern of this bird fits Red-faced better than Chattering and Bubbling, in my opinion, but the colours do not. Online photos show a very distinctive bird with grey crown and back, and light red cheeks with a reddish front above the bill.
However, I think that the OP gape line still has a juvenile look, there is the pale lower mandible, and some of the feathering also looks not yet adult. In which case in may not be obvious what the adult colouring and patterning would be.
The bird that actually struck me as most possible is Whistling, which Andy mentioned but didn't discuss. According to 'Birds of Africa South of the Sahara', it appears to be common across CAR.
From 'Birds of East Africa': '[Adult]: Dull brown crown not contrasting with back. Immature rusty above and yellow below. White throat (often looks very white when singing), grey sides to neck'. Birds of the World: 'some immatures have bright foxy-red upperparts'. I could only find a few online photos and some of them look rather different from this description (greyish brown crown and back, with a red wing panel), but a couple look as though the OP bird could end up like it (rusty goes to dull brown). Also, Birds of the World says, but doesn't illustrate, 'Race antinorii [the CAR ssp.] is paler and browner above than nominate, with narrow buffy margins of flight-feathers, thus lacking rufous wingpanel', which would account for the online photos I found (i.e. not antinorii).
So immature Whistling would be my addition to the pot of possibilities.
ML184813621 - Whistling Cisticola - Macaulay Library
Macaulay Library ML184813621; © Sandy Vorpahl; Northern, Uganda
Anyway that's all I have to offer. Sorry not to be able to help more. Apologies if it's completly off beam.
Valéry Schollaert
Respect animals, don't eat or wear their body or s
Hi Patrick,
Long time, how are you ? I'm currently living in Mexico, far from African cisticolas. I just remember a little...
Your bird show a bare gape, suggesting a juvenile (as MacNara pointed out), so I would not rely on bill colour. Very thick bill totally rule out small cisticola such Foxy. Actually, I've no problem for both Chattering and Whistling, but I've not all plumage in mind, especially in CAF where I've never been (feeling quite jealous of you , my African list is still stuck at 2050 since 7 years). However, it is worth noticed that the lower mandible is curved. I suggest you double-check because because I'm not 100% positive, but AFAIK only Whistling has a curved lower mandible among the possible large plain-backed Cisticola species in the area.
Regards.
Long time, how are you ? I'm currently living in Mexico, far from African cisticolas. I just remember a little...
Your bird show a bare gape, suggesting a juvenile (as MacNara pointed out), so I would not rely on bill colour. Very thick bill totally rule out small cisticola such Foxy. Actually, I've no problem for both Chattering and Whistling, but I've not all plumage in mind, especially in CAF where I've never been (feeling quite jealous of you , my African list is still stuck at 2050 since 7 years). However, it is worth noticed that the lower mandible is curved. I suggest you double-check because because I'm not 100% positive, but AFAIK only Whistling has a curved lower mandible among the possible large plain-backed Cisticola species in the area.
Regards.
