Animalia Life

Cisticola exilis
SUBFAMILY
Sylviinae
TAXONOMY
Cisticola exilis Vigors and Horsfield, 1827.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Bright-headed cisticola, yellow-headed cisticola, tailorbird, corn bird; French: Cisticole а couronne dorйe; German: Goldkopg-Cistensдnger; Spanish: Buitrуn de Capa Dorada.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
3.9–4.3 in (10–11 cm). Small warbler, warm brown back, rufous nape, crown, breast and flanks, whitish throat and belly. Strong black streaking on back. Wings and tail short. Bill short, thin, and slightly decurved.
DISTRIBUTION
The only cisticola absent from Africa. Southern Asia, from India and China south through Phillipines, Malay Archipelago, and New Guinea, to Australia.
HABITAT
Tall, coarse, open grassland. Often in wet areas.
BEHAVIOR
Usually solitary or in pairs. Scurries through dense grasses in a mouse-like manner. May form loose flocks in nonbreeding season. Male song, given during flight-display, is a nasal wheeze, followed by an explosive, liquid plook note.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Insectivorous. Forages on or near ground.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Polygynous. Males with shorter tails have increased reproductive success. Male flight-display consists of characteristic circular flight, singing and a high-speed vertical plummet. Nest is a small, rounded bag of grasses, plant down, and spider silk, attached to grasses or other vegetation. The female builds the nest, sometimes with help from the male, but incubates the 3–4 eggs herself.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.

Other popular Animals