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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Zitting Cisticola sighting in Udawalawe National Park on a given day, based on 71 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 102nd most-seen of the 166 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.
May–June and December–January
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Zitting Cisticola in Udawalawe National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July and August, the lowest months.
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.
17th of 75
Of the 75 parks where we can rate Zitting Cisticola sightings, Udawalawe National Park ranks 17th at about 10%. The best odds are in Horton Plains National Park (Sri Lanka, about 60%), Camargue (France, about 40%) and Doñana National Park (Spain, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Cisticolidae
The closest relatives of the Zitting Cisticola that you can see in Udawalawe National Park (family Cisticolidae, Cisticolas and Allies) are Plain Prinia (about 60%), Common Tailorbird (about 50%) and Gray-breasted Prinia (about 40%), 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 Udawalawe National Park (71 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.
