Cisticola juncidis
The Zitting Cisticola – also known as the Streaked Fantail Warbler in parts of its range – is the most widely distributed of its family and occurs over much of Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia with most of these populations being resident year round. In South Africa it is found in all our provinces, being absent only from the driest parts in the west of the country. The IUCN, siting its wide distribution and apparently increasing population, lists the Zitting Cisticola as being of least concern.
Zitting Cisticolas inhabit open country; naturally mostly savannas, grasslands and seasonally flooded wetlands, but they’ve also taken to croplands, golf courses and airstrips. They feed exclusively on insects and other invertebrates and have a special liking for grasshoppers.
In the breeding season, which peaks in summer, the male constructs a pear-shaped nest inside a tuft of green grass using spider web and plant material – a process that could take in excess of 2 weeks to complete without any guarantee that the female will approve (and if she doesn’t, he has to take the whole thing apart and start over!). The female in turn is solely responsible for incubating the clutch of 2-5 eggs over a two week period, and she also does most of the feeding of the chicks which grow rapidly and fledge within 2 weeks of hatching. Infidelity is common among males and he may have several consecutive mates in a breeding season, and sometimes more than one at the same time! Adults weigh around 9g and measure about 11cm long. They’re usually encountered alone or in pairs and the males are probably territorial.
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