Cisticola juncidis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The zitting cisticola, formerly also fan-tailed warbler or streaked fantail warbler (Cisticola juncidis), is a widely distributed Old World warbler in the family Cisticolidae, whose breeding range includes western and southern Europe, Africa outside the deserts and rainforest, and southern Asia down to northern Australia. A small bird found mainly in grasslands, it is best identified by its rufous rump; in addition it lacks any gold on the collar and the brownish tail is tipped with white. During the breeding season males have a zigzagging flight display accompanied by regular "zit" calls that give it its English name. They build their pouch nest suspended within a clump of grass.
The zitting cisticola was described by the naturalist Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1810 and given the binomial name Sylvia juncidis. The type locality is Campofelice di Roccella in Sicily. The current genus name Cisticola is from Ancient Greek kisthos, "rock-rose", and Latin colere, "to dwell". The specific juncidis is also from Latin and is a diminutive of iuncus, "reed".
A total of 17 subspecies are currently accepted; they fall into two main groups, with... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vasai-Virar | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Chattogram | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 3 | Thiruvananthapuram | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Makassar | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 5 | Porto | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 6 | Lisbon | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 7 | Savar | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 8 | Berhampore | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Rabat | 🇲🇦 Morocco | |
| 10 | Naha | 🇯🇵 Japan |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Zitting Cisticola sighting in Kolkata on a given day, based on 1,974 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 36th most-seen of the 247 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Zitting Cisticola in Kolkata on a given day, against about 10% in March–June, August and October, the lowest months. That is one of Kolkata's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 330 mm in July.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Zitting Cisticola sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
13th of 120
Of the 120 cities where we can rate Zitting Cisticola sightings, Kolkata ranks 13th at about 20%. The best odds are in Vasai-Virar (India, about 50%), Chattogram (Bangladesh, about 40%) and Thiruvananthapuram (India, about 30%).
Same family: Cisticolidae
The closest relatives of the Zitting Cisticola that you can see in Kolkata (family Cisticolidae, Cisticolas and Allies) are Common Tailorbird (about 60%) and Plain Prinia (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Zitting Cisticola is recorded against all the birds logged in Kolkata (1,974 verified sightings), 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.
