Lynes's Cisticola
Cisticola distinctus
Medium-sized, streak-backed cisticola of middle-elevation uplands. Found in grassland and savanna on rocky slopes with a mix of bushes, grass, and often aloes. Generally inconspicuous; seen singly or in pairs. Vocalizations include a short, explosive, accelerating trill, and rising wails. Similar to Rattling Cisticola, but has more rufous in the face and a longer tail. As with all cisticolas, habitat and voice are important cues in identification.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Cisticola distinctus
- Authority
- Lynes, 1930
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Cisticolidae
- Genus
- Cisticola
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds

Lyre-tailed Nightjar
Uropsalis lyra
Cryptically patterned in brown and gray with a rufous collar. Most distinctive feature is male’s ridiculously long tail, up to three times the length of the body and tipped with white. Females lack long tail; look for more prominent rufous collar to help distinguish from Swallow-tailed Nightjar. Often associated with steep road cuts, landslides, or cliff faces within forests of the subtropical zones. Males roost during the day on vines or branches that allow their long tail to hang down; females more apt to roost on the ground. Most often seen at dusk, when males sing and sally out from the mountainside, flaunting their oversized tail. Tends to be found at lower elevations than similar Swallow-tailed Nightjar, but some overlap. Listen for sweet whistled song, several repeated phrases getting slightly higher in pitch.

Silver-backed Butcherbird
Cracticus argenteus
Medium-sized ambush-hunter with a long gray bill with a dark, hooked tip. Black head and face with a white nape and chin. Upperparts very pale gray, with white rump, outer part of wings black, inner part of wings white, and black tail with white tip. Rollicking, chuckling song.

Saffron-cowled Blackbird
Xanthopsar flavus
Brightly colored blackbird. Males have a black nape and upper back; face, underparts, and rump are yellow tinged with orange. Note the black mask and the yellow shoulder patch. In females the black is replaced by brown. Closely linked to water; found in marshes and natural grasslands, where it mostly forages in flocks on the ground. Declining rapidly.
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