Brown-bellied Swallow

Fairly large, plain cisticola. Note the rufous cap, pale underparts, and two bands across the tip of the tail, one pale and one black. Found in a variety of savanna habitats, including miombo. The distinctive song is a high, rising trill, given from a prominent perch. The call is an agitated, repeated “chit.” As with other cisticolas, habitat and vocalizations are important to identification. Fairly similar to Whistling Cisticola, but has a rufous cap.

A small, compact finch-like sociable lark that is both resident and nomadic, although movements are poorly understood. The sexes differ in plumage: the distinctive male has a rich chestnut back and wings and a black head with bold white circular ear-patches; the streaky female is variable depending on geographic range, but always has a dark belly patch. Flocks of up to 50 birds (often mixed with Chestnut-headed Sparrow-Lark in NE Africa) can appear in open grassland and arid savanna, preferring recently burned turf, open fields, and gravel plains. They shuffle along in bare patches foraging for seeds and insects.

Relatively colorful, mid-sized, long-tailed cisticola of wetlands. Note the brown back with thick black streaks, rufous on the wing and cap, and whitish underparts. Shows geographical variation in overall richness of color, including rufous cap and wing patch. Found in wetland habitats, especially reedbeds, and locally in wet scrub. Song varies across the range. Most populations give a high, rising trill. Some sing with rough “chyup” notes. Similar to Levaillant’s Cisticola, but Winding has a gray or brown tail and an unstreaked rump. Relatively bold colors separate the two from other cisticolas.