Cisticola juncidis

This common resident in grasslands and fields is similar to its cousin; the desert cisticola, and can be difficult to tell apart. Call (zit versus zink) and breeding behaviour is the best and most reliable way to separate this species from its “drier-living” cousin.

We first recorded this medium-tailed cisticola in March 2010 while birding Wakkerstroom in Mpumulanga. They are common throughout much of southern Africa.