Cisticolas (Genus of Cisticola)

A Levaillant's Cisticola photographed at Rondevlei Nature Reserve in the False Bay region of Cape Town.

Cisticolas (pronounced sis-TIC-olas) are a genus of very small insectivorous birds formerly classified in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae, but now usually considered to be in the separate family Cisticolidae, along with other southern warbler genera. They are believed to be quite closely related to the swallows and martins, the bulbuls and the white-eyes. The genus contains about 45 species, of which only two are not found in Africa: one in Madagascar and the other from Asia to Australasia.

Their generic name, Cisticola, means inhabitant (-cola) of a woven basket (cista-), referring to the finely woven nest of the zitting cisticola, the most widespread species. They are also sometimes called fantail-warblers due to their habit of conspicuously flicking their tails, or tailor-birds because of their nests.

Cisticolas are widespread through the Old World's tropical and sub-tropical regions. Africa, which is home to almost all species, is the most likely ancestral home of the group. Cisticolas are usually non-migratory with most species attached to and often distinguishable by their habitats.

A variety of open habitats are occupied. These include wetlands, moist or drier grasslands, open or rocky mountain slopes, and human-modified habitats such as road verges, cultivation, weedy areas or pasture. The species preferring wetlands can be found at the edges of mangrove, or inpapyrus, common reed, or typha swamps. Cisticolas are generally quite common within what remains of their preferred habitats.

The zitting cisticola (or fan-tailed warbler) is widespread throughout the tropics and even breeds in southern Europe. It has occurred on a few occasions as a vagrant to England.

Because of their small size (about 10 cm) and brown plumage, they are more easily heard than seen. The similar plumage of many species can make them hard to identify, particularly in winter when they seldom emerge from their grasses. Many African species, in particular, are difficult to distinguish other than by their calls. Thirteen species are named for their calls, from "singing" and "chirping" to "bubbling" and "siffling".

Male cisticolas are polygamous. The female builds a discreet nest deep in the grasses, often binding living leaves into the soft fabric of felted plant down, cobweb, and grass: a cup shape for the zitting cisticola with a canopy of tied-together leaves or grasses overhead for camouflage, a full dome for the golden-headed cisticola. The average clutch is about 4 eggs, which take about 2 weeks to hatch. The parasitic weaver is a specialist parasite of cisticolas and prinias.

In summer, male cisticolas of smaller species make spectacular display flights while larger species perch in prominent places to sing lustily. Despite his size and well-camouflaged, brown-streaked plumage, the male golden-headed cisticola of Australia and southern Asia produces a small, brilliant splash of golden-yellow colour in the dappled sunlight of a reed bed.

There are 45 different species of cisticola in the cisticola genus:

Neddicky

Zitting Cisticola
levaillant's Cisticola
Grey Backed Cisticola
Wailing Cisticola
Cloud Cisticola
Desert Cisticola
Wing Snapping Cisticola
Lazy Cisticola
Pale Crowned Cisticola
Croaching Cisticola
Tinkling Cisticola
Rattling Cisticola
Red Faced Cisticola
Winding Cisticola
Chirping Cisticola
Short Winged Cisticola
Singing Cisticola
Long Tailed Cisticola
Stout Cisticola
Whistling Cisticola
Dambo's Cisticola
Chattering Cisticola
Bubbling Cisticola
Black Tailed Cisticola
Trilling Cisticola
Black Lored Cisticola
Churring's Cisticola
Chub's Cisticola
Carruther's Cisticola
Pectoral Patch Cisticola
Black Backed Cisticola
Hunter's Cisticola
Ashy Cisticola
Tiny Cisticola
Red Pate Cisticola
Boran's Cisticola
Tona River Cisticola
Aberdan Cisticola (EN)
Rufus Cisticola
Dorst's Cisticola
Brown Backed Cisticola
Madagascan Cisticola
Socotra Cisticola (NT)
Golden Headed Cisticola

6 out of the 45 species can be found in the Western Cape.
15 out of the 45 species can be found in South Africa.
43 of the 45 species can be found in Africa.
2 of the 45 species can be found in Asia.

I would guess your best chance of seeing a bird specie belonging to this genus is in in South Africa (most likely in Eastern Cape, Kwazulu Natal and Mpumalanga), DRC and Tanzania.

I have only been able to photograph two of the 45 cisticola species; Levaillant's Cisticola and Neddicky.

Levaillant's Cisticola

A Levaillant's Cisticola Photographed at the Inthaka Bird Sanctuary in the Western Coastal part of Cape Town.

The Levaillant's cisticola is a small, 12–15 cm long, dull-coloured bird with a longish tail and a reddish cap. The upperparts of the breeding adult are grey, heavily streaked with black, and with a rufous panel in the folded wing The supercilium, face and underparts are buffy white and the tail is russet brow. The short straight bill is blackish-brown with a pinkish base, and the feet and legs are pinkish-brown. The eye is light brown. Non-breeding adults are browner-backed, and juvenile birds have yellower underparts. The calls include a musical chrip-trrrup-trreee, a wailing tee tee tee and harsh alarm notes.
The cisticola is a resident breeder in eastern Africa from Kenya to eastern South Africa. It is common in reedbeds, sedges, rank grass, and similar wet habitats usually near rivers or dams.Levaillant's cisticola is usually seen in pairs, singly, or in small family parties. Flitting through the grass as it forages for small insects. It is vocal and conspicuous, perching on the top of tall grass stems and reeds and making its alarm call.
The cisticola builds a ball-shaped nest with a side entrance from dry grass, cobwebs and felted plant down. It is usually placed in a tuft of grass or weeds, which are standing in, or hanging over water. Nesting occurs from August to October.
This common species has a large range, with an estimated extent of 1,400,000 km². The population size is believed to be large, and the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as least concern.

Some of the places where I have photographed the Levaillant's Cisticola is:

Paarl Bird Sanctuary, Paarl, Western Cape

Strandfontein Bird Sanctuary, False Bay Western Cape

Val de Vie, Paarl, Western Cape

Rondevlei, FalseBay, Western Cape

The Distribution of the Levaillant's Cisticola is:

Neddicky

The neddicky, or piping cisticola, (Cisticola fulvicapilla), is a small passerine bird. The common name neddicky is used from the Afrikaans name for the species, as it is commonly known.

This cisticola is a resident breeder in much of Africa from Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania south to the Cape.

The neddicky is a very common bird of open woodland, including savannah with trees and open plantations of exotic species. It avoids densely wooded habitats.

The neddicky is a small, vocal, dull-coloured brown bird, 11 cm in length. Its tail is not as short as that of some other cisticola species. This bird has a reddish cap and a plain back. The underparts are buff, darker in tone on the breast. The brown bill is short and straight, and the feet and legs are pinkish-brown. The eye is light brown. The sexes are similar, but juvenile birds are yellower.

The southern form found in the western Cape Province has grey underparts and a grey-brown back. Althoughcisticolas can be very similar in plumage, this greyish subspecies is therefore quite distinctive.

The call of the neddicky is a monotonous, penetrating, repetitive weep weep weep. The alarm call is a loud clicking tictictictic, like a fingernail running across the teeth of a comb.

The neddicky builds a ball-shaped nest with a side entrance from dry grass, cobwebs and felted plant down. The nest is placed low in a thorny shrub, or in thick grass. In South Africa, this bird breeds mainly from September to March.

The neddicky is usually seen in pairs or singly, flitting in a bush or the grass at the base of a tree as it forages for small insects.

This common species has a large range, with an estimated extent of 4,100,000 km². The population size is believed to be large, and the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as least concern.

Some of the places where I have photographed the Neddicky is;

Paarl Mountain Reserve, Paarl, Western Cape

The distribution of the Neddicky is:

The next bird I target to photograph in this specific genus is the Zitting Cisticola. This should not be too difficult as they are distributed across the Western Cape and do occur at many places I would normally visit. They are also found across many parts of Africa, Europe, Asia and Australasia.

The distribution of the Zitting Cisticola is:

Weavers (Genus of Ploceus)

A Southern Masked Weaver Photographed in Hatfield in Pretoria, Gauteng.

There are 65 species of weaver birds in this genus: 

Southern Masked Weaver

Cape Weaver

Village Weaver

Spectacle Weaver

Eastern Golden Weaver

Dark Backed Weaver

Lesser Masked Weaver

Holub's Golden Weaver

Southern Brown Throated Weaver

Chesnut Weaver

Olive Headed Weaver(NT)

Bertran's weaver

Slender Billed weaver

Bocage's Weaver

Bar Winged Weaver

Compact Weaver

Vieillot's Black Weaver

Brown Capped Weaver

Black Nekced Weaver

Black Chinned weaver

Orange Weaver

Yellow Mantled Weaver

Loango Weaver

Bagkafecht Weaver

Black Headed Weaver

Katanga Weaver

Tanzanian Masked Weaver

Dark Backed Weaver

Northern Brown Throated Weaver

Vitelline Weaver

Little Weaver

Weyn's Weaver

Strange Weaver

Maxwell's Black Weaver

Preuss's Weaver

Yellow Capped Weaver

Heuglin's Masked Weaver

Lufira Masked Weaver

Golden Naped Weaver (EN)

Yellow Legged Weaver (VU)

Black Billed Weaver

Golden Backed Weaver

Golden Palm Weaver

Speke's Weaver

Taveta Weaver

Kilombero Weaver (VU)

Usombera Weaver (EN)

Fox's Weaver (NT)

Ruppell's Weaver

Juba Weaver

Northern Masked Weaver

Clarke's Weaver

Bannaerman's Weaver (VU)

Bale's Weaver (EN)

Cinnamon Weaver

Nelicourvi Weaver

Sakalava Weaver

Principe Weaver

Giant Weaver

Soa Tome Weaver

Streaked Weaver

Baya Weaver

Finn's Weaver (VU)

Black Breasted Weaver

Asian Golden Weaver (NT)

2 of the 65 weavers can be found in Western Cape.

9 of the 65 weavers can be found in South Africa.

60 of the 65 weavers can be found in Africa.

5 of the 65 weavers can be found in Asia.

You are most likely to spot these weaver birds in sub Saharan Africa, and specifically in DRC, Tanzania and Angola.

Ploceus is a genus of birds in the weaver family Ploceidae.

I have only photographed two of the numerous 65 of weaver birds in this genus; The Southern Masked Weaver and the Cape Weaver. These are the only two species of weaver birds that can be found in my home province of Western Cape. The next weaver bird I will target is the Village Weaver, which can be found in our neighboring province of Eastern Cape. The biggest city there is Port Elizabeth, and will be probably the most accessible for most people. The Cape Recife in Port Elizabeth looks like a good bet to go and look for Village Weaver. I will update this blog post as soon as I get to photograph this bird.  

The Southern Masked Weaver is probably the most common weaver in South Africa. Some of the places where I have photographed the Southern Masked Weaver are;
Paarl Bird Sanctuary, Paarl, Western Cape,
Strandfontein Bird Sanctuary, False Bay, Western Cape,
Val de Vie, Paarl, Western Cape,
Rondevlei Nature Reserve, False Bay, Western Cape

A non-breeding male Southern Masked Weaver photographed at Inthaka Island, in the Western Coast area of Cape Town, in the Western Cape.

The southern masked weaver is 11-14.5 cm long with a short, strong, conical bill and pinkish brown legs. The adult male in breeding plumage has a black face, throat and beak, red eye, bright yellow head and underparts, and a plain yellowish-green back,

The female has a pinkish-brown bill, brown or red-brown eye and is dull greenish-yellow, streaked darker on the upper back. The throat is yellowish, fading to off-white on the belly. The non-breeding male resembles the female but retains the red eye. The juvenile of this species is like the female.

The call is a harsh swizzling, similar to other weavers. It also utters a sharp chuk alarm note.

The southern masked weaver nests in colonies, mainly from September to January. Males have several female partners, and build a succession of nests, typically 25 each season. The nests, like those of other weavers, are woven from reed, palm or grass. A female will line a selected nest with soft grass and feathers. The nest is built in a tree, often over water, but sometimes in suburbia. This weaver also nests in reeds.

The southern masked weaver lays eggs of a various colour and this helps it to evade parasitisation by cuckoos because the cuckoo has no way of knowing what kind of eggs are inside the weaver's nest until it has entered the nest to attempt to lay one itself. Eggs of the wrong colouration are ejected by the nest owners.

The southern masked weaver is usually seen singly or in small groups. It may also form larger flocks, alone or with other seed eating species. It eats insects, seeds and nectar, and will come to feeding tables.

The Southern Masked Weaver is almost present everywhere in the southern African coubtries as seen in the map below.

The Cape weaver is the second weaver species that can be found in Western Cape. Some of the places I have photographed the Cape Weaver are;
Val de Vie, Paarl, Western Cape,
Helderberg Nature Reserve, Helderberg, Western Cape,
Rondevlei Nature Reserve, False Bay, Western Cape

A Cape Weaver photographed at Helderberg Nature Reserve, situated in Somerset West, on the eastern side of Cape Town.

The Cape weaver (Ploceus capensis) is a resident breeding bird species endemic to South Africa.

This common species occurs in grassland, agricultural and fynbos habitats, often near rivers. It breeds in noisy colonies in trees (often willows oreucalyptus, rarely palms) and reedbeds.

This weaver builds a large coarsely woven nest made of grass and leaf strips with a downward facing entrance which is suspended from a branch or reed. The hadada ibis will sometimes nest in the weaver colonies. The Cape weaver feeds on a wide variety of seeds, grain and insects. The calls of this bird include a harsh azwit, azwit.

The Cape weaver is a stocky 17 cm long bird with streaked olive-brown upperparts and a long pointed conical bill. The breeding male has a yellow head and underparts, an orange face, and a white iris.

The adult female has an olive-yellow head and breast, shading to pale yellow on the lower belly. Her eyes are brown. Young birds are similar to the female.

The Cape Weaver is endemic to South Africa, as can be seen in the distribution map below.

The next weaver on my list will be the village weaver. The village weaver (Ploceus cucullatus), also known as the spotted-backed weaver or black-headed weaver (the latter leading to easy confusion with P. melanocephalus), is a species of bird found in much of sub-Saharan Africa. It has also been introduced to Hispaniola, Mauritius and Réunion.

This often abundant species occurs in a wide range of open or semi-open habitats, including woodlands and human habitation, and frequently forms large noisy colonies in towns, villages and hotel grounds.

This weaver builds a large coarsely woven nest made of grass and leaf strips with a downward facing entrance which is suspended from a branch in a tree. 2-3 eggs are laid. This is a colonial breeder, so many nests may hang from one tree.

The village weaver is a stocky 15–17 cm bird with a strong conical bill and dark reddish eyes. In the northern part of its range, the breeding male has a black head edged by chestnut (typically most distinct on the nape and chest). Towards the southern part of its range, the amount of black and chestnut diminish, and the breeding males of the southernmost subspecies only have a black face and throat, while the nape and crown are yellow. In all subspecies the breeding male has a black bill, black and yellow upperparts and wings, and yellow underparts.

The non-breeding male has a yellow head with an olive crown, grey upperparts and whitish underparts. The wings remain yellow and black.

The adult female has streaked olive upperparts, yellow and black wings, and pale yellow underparts. Young birds are like the female but browner on the back.

Village weaver feeds principally on seeds and grain, and can be a crop pest, but it will readily take insects, especially when feeding young, which partially redresses the damage to agriculture.

The calls of this bird include harsh buzzes and chattering.

The distribution of the Village Weaver stretches over most of the sub Saharan Africa, as well as in some of the Caribbean islands in North America. This species of weaver is not found in the area where I stay, with the closest area to me,  being Eastern Cape.