Siffling cisticola facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Short-winged cisticola |
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The short-winged cisticola (Cisticola brachypterus) is a small bird that lives in Africa. It is also known as the siffling cisticola because of its soft call. This bird belongs to a group of birds called Cisticolidae.
You can find the short-winged cisticola in many countries across Africa. These include Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
This bird looks a bit like another bird called the neddicky. However, the short-winged cisticola has a shorter tail. It also has clear buff (a pale yellowish-brown) feathers on its belly. It does not have the reddish-brown crown that the neddicky has.
Where Short-winged Cisticolas Live
The short-winged cisticola is found all over sub-Saharan Africa. This means it lives in the parts of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. You can see them from West Africa all the way to Ethiopia. They also live south into Mozambique.
These birds are common in open areas within woodlands. They especially like woodlands with Brachystegia trees, also known as miombo woodlands. They also live in other types of savanna woodlands. You might find them in thick bushes near termite mounds. They also like plants along water paths and at the edges of farms.
What Short-winged Cisticolas Eat
The short-winged cisticola mainly eats insects. It looks for food quietly in grass clumps and on the ground.
Some of the insects they eat include:
- Termites
- Grasshoppers (Orthoptera)
- Beetles (Coleoptera)
- Bugs (Hemiptera)
Life Cycle and Reproduction
In countries like Zimbabwe, short-winged cisticolas lay their eggs from November to March.
Their nest is shaped like a compact ball. It is made from dry grass and leaves. The birds use spider webs to make the nest stronger. The nest usually has an entrance on the side. They build their nests very close to the ground. You can often find them in a clump of grass or a small bush.
A female short-winged cisticola lays 2 to 4 eggs. She is the only one who sits on the eggs to keep them warm. This is called incubation. The eggs hatch after about 14 days. The baby birds, called chicks, stay in the nest for about 17 days after hatching.
