Levaillant’s Cisticola Cisticola tinniens
Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa. 11 January 2006

This Levaillant’s Cisticola - normally of species found in wet grassland and reedbeds - was photographed on the “Tourist Route” in Suikerbosrand NR in January 2006, in an area of rank grassland.

I was initially confused about its identity - primarily because I had never seen an individual as bright as this one - though it seemed very likely that it must be a Levaillant’s (the only other “dark-backed” cisticola found at Suikerbosrand is the Wailing Cisticola Cisticola lais, which is greyer-backed and streak-headed amongst other differences).

I posted a request for ID assistance on the AfricanBirding yahoo group and recieved some very helpful answers - all of which said that the bird was a Levaillant’s (with thanks to Doug Newman, Pete Leonard, Keith Seaton, and Etienne Marias). Doug Newman added the fascinating thought that the Levaillant’s at Suikerbosrand NR are so out of their normal habitat and altitude range that he has purposefully recorded the call as he was wondering if this might perhaps be a localized sub-species that no-one has yet documented.

Doug has very kindly forwarded one of the recordings he made which can be heard by clicking here

All photographs copyright Charlie Moores