Rufous-winged Cisticola ( Cisticola galactotes, family: Cisticolidae)
Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called Black-backed Cisticola
The Rufous-winged Cisticola (Latin name Cisticola galactotes) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 675 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 831 also a picture of the Rufous-winged Cisticola on page 912. The Rufous-winged Cisticola belongs to the family of birds classified as Cisticolidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Rufous-winged Cisticola is also known by these other names: Winding Cisticola, Rufous Grass Warbler, Greater Black-backed Cisticola.
In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Rufous-winged Cisticola was called the Black-backed Cisticola
The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps
The Rufous-winged Cisticola is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.
In terms of distribution of the Rufous-winged Cisticola in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Rufous-winged Cisticola : see above distribution map.
Identification assistance for this avian species ...
One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Rufous-winged Cisticola is a small bird about the size of a house sparrow. Do not take this relative indicator as anything other than a rough easy to remember indicator. It is not a accurate visualization. The height of the Rufous-winged Cisticola is about 15 cms and its weight is about 13 gms
The male and female Rufous-winged Cisticola have the same plumage and colours
- Head is red, brown.
- Eye is brown.
- Bill is black.
- Throat is white.
- Back is black, brown.
- Legs are pink.
This bird has normally proportioned leg length.
Main diet items for this bird ...
The Rufous-winged Cisticola feeds on the ground mainly
Invertebrates
Seeds
Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...
The Rufous-winged Cisticola is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Cisticola galactotes will seek out a new mate
The nesting habit of Rufous-winged Cisticola is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 2 to 4
Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...
The preferred habitats for Rufous-winged Cisticola are: wetlands and riverine areas . Comments about the Rufous-winged Cisticola :nest placed over water.
You will not see Rufous-winged Cisticola in flocks. The bird prefers to act singly or in pairs.
Names of this avian species in other languages ...
Xhosa ... Unknown
Zulu ... Unknown
Afrikaans ...Swartrugtinktinkie
German ... Schwarzrcken-Zistensnger
Portuguese ... Fuinha-de-dorso-preto
French ... Cisticole rousstre
Dutch ... Zwartrug-Graszanger
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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...
Robert's 7th edition number ... 675
The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za
