Cisticola galactotes
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The rufous-winged cisticola (Cisticola galactotes) is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found on the east coast of southern Africa. This taxon was split from the winding cisticola by the IOC and HBW, as were the Luapula cisticola, coastal cisticola and Ethiopian cisticola.
It is found in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland and swamps. Media related to Cisticola galactotes at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Cisticola galactotes at Wikispecies
Black-backed cisticola (A pre-split name for Rufous-winged cisticola) - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-winged Cisticola sighting in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, based on 322 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 88th most-seen of the 351 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November to January
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-winged Cisticola in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–April and July, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous-winged 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.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Rufous-winged Cisticola sightings, iSimangaliso Wetland Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, under 5%) and Kruger National Park (South Africa, under 5%).
Same genus: Cisticola
The closest relatives of the Rufous-winged Cisticola that you can see in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (genus Cisticola, Cisticolas) are Rattling Cisticola (about 30%), Croaking Cisticola (about 20%) and Zitting Cisticola (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous-winged Cisticola is recorded against all the birds logged in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (322 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.
