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26

Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis) Alternate name(s): "Streaked Cisticola", "Fan-tail Cisticola", "Streaked Grass-warbler", "Streaked Fantail Warbler" Size: 9.5-10.5 cm Weight: 6-8 g

Australia: Family Group 26 Family Group 26 Table Australian Reed-Warbler Spinifexbird Tawny Grassbird Little Grassbird Golden-headed Cisticola Zitting Cisticola Rufous Songlark Brown Songlark Yellow White-eye Silvereye Bassian Thrush Russet-tailed Thrush Metallic Starling Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Zitting Cisticolas are small reed birds. Their plumage is cryptic, especially during the non-breeding season. During the breeding season, male Zitting Cisticolas have a brown crown and nape of the neck with faint dark-brown striation. The bill turns black. Females in breeding plumage have an heavily dark-brown streaked crown and back and a bright cinnamon rump. The bill remains mostly pale. During the non-breeding season males and females are indistinguishable, with heavily streaked upperparts. They also grow longer tails outside the breeding season. The eyes have dark-brown irises. Except in breeding males, the relatively long, slightly down-curved bill has a grey upper mandible; the lower mandible is horn-coloured. The legs and feet are greyish-pink. Twitcher's tip Compared with Golden-headed Cisticolas, Zitting Cisticolas have duller colours.

Taxonomy, classification See Zitting Cisticola at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Zitting Cisticola is available HERE . There are 18 extant races of Zitting Cisticolas which, taken altogether, have a wide-ranging distribution - from large parts of Africa, south-western and western Europe in the West, via the Mediterranean, coastal parts of the Middle East and of Arabia, to much of India and on to much of south-eastern and eastern Asia. At the southern end, their range includes Malaysia, Indonesia, Timor Leste, New Guinea and northern Australia. In Australia three races exist, at least two of which are endemic to Australia (the determination of the race found along the island chain of the Torres Strait as yet being uncertain). Race "laveryi" populates parts of the QLD East coast on the continent. Their range comprises of three patches, one extending from about the tropic of Capricorn to about the confluence of the Burdekin River, QLD, while the second eastern coastal population is found around Cape Melville. There is a third small patch on the western side of Cape York peninsula. Endemic race "normani" has a very limited range, between the confluences of the two major rivers, along the southern coastline of the Gulf of Carpentaria. The second endemic race, "leanyeri", populates the coastal area around Darwin, NT, including Tiwi Island, and a second patch on the Australian North coast, near the NT/WA border. Zitting Cisticolas have a preference for grassland or reeds.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "laveryi" M. Eaton reports spotting Zitting Cisticolas, race "laveryi", at Horseshoe Lagoon, Hodel Road, Burdekin, QLD, in September 2020. Race "leanyeri" B. Hensen reports spotting Zitting Cisticolas, race "leanyeri", at Holmes Jungle, Darwin, NT, in August 2013, and at Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, in January 2016. Race "cisticola" Zitting Cisticolas, race "cisticola" were found by us in Europe.

Photos

Race "laveryi"

ADULT

MALE

BREEDING

Near-lateral view of a Zitting Cisticola; the short tail and the intense buff hue suggest that this may be a male in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Horseshoe Lagoon, Hodel Road, Burdekin, QLD, September 2020]

Sex unknown

NON-BREEDING

Frontal view of a Zitting Cisticola in non-breeding plumage; note the buff tips of the tail feathers (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Horseshoe Lagoon, Hodel Road, Burdekin, QLD, September 2020]

Near-lateral views of a Zitting Cisticola in non-breeding plumage, as indicated by the long tail feathers; note how, depending on light conditions, the appearance can change on short timescales (photos courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Horseshoe Lagoon, Hodel Road, Burdekin, QLD, September 2020]

Near-lateral view of a Zitting Cisticola in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Horseshoe Lagoon, Hodel Road, Burdekin, QLD, September 2020]

Near-lateral view of a Zitting Cisticola in non-breeding plumage; note the buff tips of the tail feathers
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Horseshoe Lagoon, Hodel Road, Burdekin, QLD, September 2020]

Lateral view of a Zitting Cisticola in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Horseshoe Lagoon, Hodel Road, Burdekin, QLD, September 2020]

Race "leanyeri"

ADULT

BREEDING

MALE

Collage of 4 distant views of a Zitting Cisticola in breeding plumage; note the whitish tips to the tail feathers characterising this species; the brown cap is typical of males (photos courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, January 2016]

NON-BREEDING

Sex unknown

Dorsal view of a Zitting Cisticola in non-breeding plumage; note the pale supercilium (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Holmes Jungle, Darwin, NT, August 2013]

Race "cisticola"

Photos of Zitting Cisticolas, race "cisticola" were taken by us in Europe.

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

zitcist_jp_20201109.m4a	cisticola (Portugal)	"Zitting" calls	© JP
zitcist_jp_20201109_2.m4a	cisticola (Portugal)	"Zitting" calls	© JP
zitcist_jp_20200310.m4a	cisticola (Portugal)	"Zitting" calls	© JP
zitcist_jp_20190608_3.m4a	cisticola (Portugal)	"Zitting" calls (+ Spanish Sparrow)	© JP
zitcist_jp_20190608.m4a	cisticola (Portugal)	"Zitting" calls (+ Spanish Sparrow)	© JP
zitcist_jp_20190608_2.m4a	cisticola (Portugal)	"Zitting" calls Q&A (+ Spanish Sparrow)	© JP
zitcist_jp_20190608_4.m4a	cisticola (Portugal)	"Zitting" calls Q&A (+ Spanish Sparrow)	© JP
zitcist_pb_20201103.m4a	leanyeri (Top End, NT)	Interacting with Golden-headed Cisticola	© PB
zitcist_pb_20201103_2.m4a	leanyeri (Top End, NT)	Interacting with Golden-headed Cisticola	© PB
zitcist_pb_20201103_3.m4a	leanyeri (Top End, NT)	Interacting with Golden-headed Cisticola	© PB

More Zitting Cisticola sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Thu, 8 October 2020, 2:13 +00:00