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I photographed this non-breeding plumaged cisticola on the circuit through the upper part of Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, south of Johannesburg. It was giving a very high, thin whispery sub-song which consisted of various, different “tsee” notes both from the ground and on the grass stem it flew up to. It didn’t call in the air [...]

Looking for Regional Specialities, North of Pretoria
03 March 2007

I’ve been birding in South Africa many times - particularly around Johannesburg/Pretoria - but have been acutely aware for a while that without good local knowledge I was never going to find some of the region’s really difficult local specialities and tricky “LBJs” (those hard to find [...]

Grey-backed Cisticola Cisticola subruficapilla
Karoo, Cape Province, South Africa. September 2006
 
The Grey-backed Cisticola is a SW African endemic, associated with lowland fynbos, karoo scrub, and arid hillsides - typically in drier habitats than the closely related Wailing Cisticola.

These birds were part of a family group photographed moving through acacia bushes alongside a dry stream [...]