Rattling Cisticola

About the 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.

The rattling cisticola was formally described in 1843 by the Scottish zoologist Andrew Smith under the binomial name Drymoica chiniana based on a male specimen collected near the town of Zeerust in the North West Province of South Africa. The specific epithet chiniana is probably from the toponym "Chenyane" or Tshwenyane Mountains that lie to the north of Zeerust. The rattling cisticola is now one of 53 species placed in the genus Cisticola that was introduced in 1829 by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup.

Seventeen subspecies are recognised: C. c. simplex (Heuglin, 1869) – south Sudan, northeast DR Congo and north Uganda C. c. fricki Mearns, 1913 – south Ethiopia and north Kenya C. c. fortis Lynes, 1930 – Gabon to central Angola, south DR Congo and Zambia

C. c. humilis... Wikipedia →