Cisticola subruficapilla
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The grey-backed cisticola or red-headed cisticola (Cisticola subruficapilla) is a small passerine bird. This cisticola is a resident breeder in southernmost Angola, Namibia and western South Africa. The grey-backed cisticola is a very common bird of coastal fynbos, karoo shrub and grassy areas on estuarine flats.
The grey-backed cisticola is a small, 13–14 cm long, vocal, dull-coloured bird with a dark rufous crown to its reddish head. It has a rufous panel in the folded wing. The grey bill is short and straight, and the feet and legs are pinkish-brown. The eye is light brown.
The southern form, "grey-backed cisticola" proper, found in southern Namibia and South Africa has a grey back heavily streaked with black. Its underparts are greyish white. Although cisticolas can be very similar in plumage, this greyish subspecies is quite distinctive. The northern subspecies has a brown back heavily streaked with black and cold buff underparts. It is very similar to the wailing cisticola, Cisticola lais, of eastern South Africa, but that species has warmer buff underparts and does not overlap in range.
The sexes are similar, but juvenile birds are duller with a yellow face... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 5 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Red-headed Cisticola sighting in Addo Elephant National Park on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 186th most-seen of the 243 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and October–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-headed Cisticola in Addo Elephant National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–September and December–January, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-headed Cisticola sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Red-headed Cisticola sightings, Addo Elephant National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in West Coast National Park (South Africa, about 50%), De Hoop Nature Reserve (South Africa, about 30%) and Table Mountain National Park (South Africa, about 10%).
Same genus: Cisticola
The closest relatives of the Red-headed Cisticola that you can see in Addo Elephant National Park (genus Cisticola, Cisticolas) are Piping Cisticola (about 20%) and Rock-loving Cisticola (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-headed Cisticola is recorded against all the birds logged in Addo Elephant National Park (23 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
