Singing Cisticola

Singing Cisticola

Cisticola cantans

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Nairobi

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%

407 Verified sightings at Nairobi
1,302 In all 18 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Singing Cisticola

The singing cisticola (Cisticola cantans) is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is native to northern and eastern sub-Saharan Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.

Singing cisticola - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:23

Uganda · 2022

© Peter Boesman · XC739554 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call1:10

Senegal · 2019

© Bram Piot · XC452934 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Alarm call0:25

Gambia · 2022

© Joost van Bruggen · XC896703 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~40%
2 Arusha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~30%
3 Gorongosa National Park 🇲🇿 Mozambique
~10%
4 Bale Mountains National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~10%
5 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
6 Niokolo-Koba National Park 🇸🇳 Senegal
<5%
7 Mkomazi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
8 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%
9 Aberdare National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
10 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
11 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
12 Mikumi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
13 Kidepo Valley National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
14 Nyungwe National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%
15 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
16 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
17 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
18 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Nairobi 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
2 Ouagadougou 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
~10%
3 Lilongwe 🇲🇼 Malawi
~10%
4 Kigali 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%
5 Accra 🇬🇭 Ghana
<5%
6 Abuja 🇳🇬 Nigeria
<5%
7 Serrekunda 🇬🇲 Gambia
<5%
8 Kampala 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Singing Cisticola in Nairobi?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Singing Cisticola sighting in Nairobi on a given day, based on 407 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 26th most-seen of the 234 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Singing Cisticola in Nairobi?

May–July and December

In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Singing Cisticola in Nairobi on a given day, against about 10% in February, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Singing Cisticola?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Singing 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.

Is Nairobi the best place to see a Singing Cisticola?

Yes

Of the 8 cities where we can rate Singing Cisticola sightings, Nairobi has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso, about 10%) and Lilongwe (Malawi, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Singing Cisticola live in Nairobi?

Same genus: Cisticola

The closest relatives of the Singing Cisticola that you can see in Nairobi (genus Cisticola, Cisticolas) are Red-faced Cisticola (about 20%) and Winding Cisticola (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Singing Cisticola sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Singing Cisticola is recorded against all the birds logged in Nairobi (407 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.

← Back to Nairobi