Cisticola cinnamomeus

Like the other short-tailed cisticolas, the pale-crowned is difficult to identify unless you see it displaying or hear it calling, or in this bird’s case, you see a male in its breeding plumage. (The male has a diagnostic buffy crown and black lores in breeding plumage).

We first stumbled across this unique-looking cisticola in April 2010 while on a sunset drive along the shores of Lake Sabaya near Kosi Bay, northern KwaZulu Natal