Cisticola lateralis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The whistling cisticola (Cisticola lateralis) is a species of bird in the Cisticolidae family. It is native to the African tropical rainforest and adjacent areas. Its natural habitats include subtropical or tropical dry forests, dry savanna, and moist savanna.
The whistling cisticola was formally described in 1843 by the British zoologist and collector Louis Fraser under the binomial name Drymoica lateralis based on a specimen collected near Cape Palmas in the south of Liberia. The specific epithet lateralis is Latin meaning "of the side" or "lateral". The whistling cisticola is now one of 53 species placed in the genus Cisticola that was introduced in 1829 by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup.
Three subspecies are recognised: The whistling cisticola is a mid-sized bird that has a body length of 13–16 cm with a male weight of 14-21 grams, and female weight of 12-19 grams. A breeding, male cisticola is described to... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Whistling Cisticola sighting in Murchison Falls National Park on a given day, based on 31 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 252nd most-seen of the 424 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.
April, July and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Whistling Cisticola in Murchison Falls National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–June, August and October–March, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Whistling 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 2 parks where we can rate Whistling Cisticola sightings, Murchison Falls National Park has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Lake Mburo National Park (Uganda, under 5%).
Same genus: Cisticola
The closest relatives of the Whistling Cisticola that you can see in Murchison Falls National Park (genus Cisticola, Cisticolas) are Rattling Cisticola (about 40%), Zitting Cisticola (about 30%) and Croaking Cisticola (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Whistling Cisticola is recorded against all the birds logged in Murchison Falls National Park (31 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.
