Derivation
Cis-tic'-o-la - L., cistus, a plant; L., colo, I inhabit: jun'-ci-dis - possibly erroneous for L., ejuncidus, slender of L., juncinus, of rushes
Habitat
Grassy margins of coastal saltflats, water-meadows and open fields.
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis) [XC289691]
by Timo Schnabel from La Faute-sur-Mer, Vend\u00e9e, Pays de la Loire, France (song)
Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis) [XC614976]
by Jacobo Ramil MIllarengo from Gen\u00eats, Manche, Normandy, France (song)
Nest
Deep, cup-shaped, composed of dry grass, bound with cobweb, lined with rootlets and fine grass, woven into a tuft of grass within 30 cm above the ground.
Eggs (Guide)
4 or more, usually 5; dull, pale blue, peppered with red-brownl oval; about 15 x 12 mm.
cisticola (Temminck, 1820) - Western France, Iberian Peninsula, Balearic Is and north-western Africa.
juncidis (Rafinesque, 1810) - Southern France east to Balkans, Greece, Turkey and Syria, also Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Crete and Egypt.
neuroticus Meinertzhagen, R, 1920 - Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq and western Iran.
uropygialis (Fraser, 1843) - Senegal east to Eritrea, Ethiopia, south-western Arabia and northern Kenya.
perenniusperennius Lynes, 1930 - Eastern DRCongo, Uganda, Kenya and northern Tanzania, including islands of Pemba, Zanzibar and Mafia.
terrestris (Smith, A, 1842) - Gabon and PRCongo, Angola, southern DRCongo and southern Tanzania south to South Africa.
cursitans (Franklin, 1831) - Eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan east to northern Myanmar and southern China (western Yunnan), south to south-eastern India and Sri Lanka (dry lowlands).
salimalii Whistler, 1936 - South-western India (Kerala).
omalurus Blyth, 1851 - Sri Lanka (except low-lying dry areas).
malaya Lynes, 1930 - Southern Myanmar, Thailand, Malay Peninsula, Nicobar Is, Sumatra and western Java.
brunniceps (Temminck & Schlegel, 1850) - Southern Korea, Japan (southern from Honshu, including Ryukyu Is and Izu Is) and extreme northern Philippines (Batan Is).
tinnabulans (Swinhoe, 1859) - South-eastern China, Taiwan, Hainan, Indochina and Philippines (except Batan Is, Culion and Palawan).
nigrostriatus Parkes, 1971 - Culion and Palawan (western Philippines).
fuscicapilla Wallace, 1864 - Eastern Java, Kangean Is and Lesser Sundas (east to Timor, Wetar, Kisar, Leti and Moa).
constans Stresemann, 1938 - Sulawesi and adjacent islands (including Muna, Butung, Tukangbesi and Peleng).
leanyeri Givens & Hitchcock, 1953 - Coastal areas of northern Australia (extreme north-eastern western Australia and northern Territory).
normani Mathews, 1914 - North-western Queensland (southern Gulf of Carpentaria), in northern Australia.
laveryi Schodde & Mason, IJ, 1979 - Eastern Gulf of Carpentaria and central Queensland coast, in north-eastern Australia. Also (possibly this race) southern New Guinea.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet