Cisticola chiniana
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The rattling cisticola (Cisticola chiniana) is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae which is native to Africa south of the equator, and parts of East Africa. It is a common to abundant species in open savanna and scrubland habitats, whether in arid, moist or upland regions. Especially during summer, it is highly conspicuous due to its strident and repetitive call-notes from prominent perches.
The rattling cisticola was formally described in 1843 by the Scottish zoologist Andrew Smith under the binomial name Drymoica chiniana based on a male specimen collected near the town of Zeerust in the North West Province of South Africa. The specific epithet chiniana is probably from the toponym "Chenyane" or Tshwenyane Mountains that lie to the north of Zeerust. The rattling cisticola is now one of 53 species placed in the genus Cisticola that was introduced in 1829 by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup.
Seventeen subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dar es-Salaam | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 3 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Lusaka | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 5 | Mombasa | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 7 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rattling Cisticola sighting in Tsavo East National Park on a given day, based on 44 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 179th most-seen of the 345 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March, May, July and September–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rattling Cisticola in Tsavo East National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–February, April, June and August, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rattling 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.
34th of 38
Of the 38 parks where we can rate Rattling Cisticola sightings, Tsavo East National Park ranks 34th at about 10%. The best odds are in uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 70%), Lake Nakuru National Park (Kenya, about 50%) and Kidepo Valley National Park (Uganda, about 50%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rattling Cisticola is recorded against all the birds logged in Tsavo East National Park (44 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.
