Boran Cisticola

Cisticola bodessa

A large, long-tailed, streak-backed upland cisticola. Note the pale tips to the tail and the brown cap. Generally scarce and highly localized. Found in woodland and scrub on rocky hillsides. Extremely similar in appearance to Rattling Cisticola, and best distinguished by song, but also separated by the unstreaked brown cap and less distinct streaking on the back. Also similar to Ashy Cisticola, but richer brown overall, with an unstreaked cap. The calls are “chit” and “pit-dit” notes, which usually precede the song: a quick descending series of scratchy notes, similar to the song of Ashy Cisticola, but shorter, faster, and with less variation in pitch. 

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Cisticola bodessa
Authority
Mearns, 1913
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Cisticolidae
Genus
Cisticola

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
stable

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Pale-legged Leaf Warbler

Pale-legged Leaf Warbler

Phylloscopus tenellipes

Small songbird, dull brownish-olive above, pale below, with prominent white supercilium, black eyeline, and faint, narrow wingbars. Vertical tail pumping distinguishes this species from most others in its range except Sakhalin Leaf Warbler. Favors the lower stories of vegetation more than most other leaf warblers, often descending down to the ground while foraging. A high-pitched cricket-like trill of a song distinguishes this species from the nearly identical Sakhalin on migration (no overlap in breeding range). Calls of the two species are similar, and can only be differentiated reliably using a spectrogram; Pale-legged’s call is marginally higher in frequency. Breeds in sparsely wooded areas, particularly in valleys and hills; can be seen in a wide range of wooded habitats outside of breeding period.

Streaked Rosefinch

Streaked Rosefinch

Carpodacus rubicilloides

Large, bulky rosefinch. Male is pinkish-red below with a streaked brown back. Female is streaky dust-brown all over. Both sexes are very similar to Great Rosefinch; look out for dark streaking on the back in both, as well as smaller white, more solid-looking white spots on the underparts of the male. Breeds in dry open expanses with sparse scrubby vegetation at around 3700-5200 meters. Winters in similar habitat, sometimes descending to lower elevations. Song consists of somewhat hoarse whistled notes. Gives a sparrow-like “chweep” and a shorter “chep.”

Principe Speirops

Principe Speirops

Zosterops leucophaeus

A bulky, mostly pale white-eye with a whitish head and belly and gray-brown wings and tail. Small to large groups join mixed flocks in forest and plantations throughout Príncipe. Calls include a high-pitched chittering, uttered as a group, and a repeated “tsit-tit-cher-it-it” song. Principe Speirops may join the same flocks as Principe White-eye, which is slightly smaller and much darker, lacking the distinctive white head and underparts. 

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Boran Cisticola | BirdLens