Animalia Life

Cisticola juncidis
SUBFAMILY
Sylviinae
TAXONOMY
Sylvia juncidis Rafinesque, 1810.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Fantailed warbler, streaked cisticola; French: Cisticole des joncs; German: Cistensдnger; Spanish: Buitrуn Comъn.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
3.9–4.7 in (10–12 cm); 0.3–0.4 oz (8–12 g). Small warbler with warm brown upperparts strongly streaked with black, rufous rump and flanks, short, rounded wings, and short, graduated tail, spotted black and white underneath. Bill short, thin, and slightly decurved.
DISTRIBUTION
Widespread. Southern Europe (Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean rim), sub-Saharan Africa, Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Australasia.
HABITAT
Open tall-grass habitat and grassy wetlands, agricultural lands, primarily in lowlands.
BEHAVIOR
Mostly sedentary, but marked post-breeding dispersal of both adults and juveniles in many populations. Also migratory in Western Mediterranean. Male song is a quick, sharp single note given consistently every 0.5 to 1 seconds. Males are aggressively territorial, especially in vicinity of nest.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Forages mostly on the ground. Takes insects and insect larvae, particularly Lepidoptera, grasshoppers, spiders, and beetles.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Serially monogamous with most males mating with 1–11 females over the course of a season. Occasionally simultaneously polygynous. Pair bond lasts for a single nesting. During courtship, male builds several partially complete nests near the ground, and attracts female with song-flight. Nest is pearshaped bag made by sewing and weaving grasses together with spider web. Two to six eggs incubated by female for 13 days; young leave nest in 11–15 days. Female feeds young 10–20 days after fledging.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.

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