Page 329 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

WARBLERS AND ALLIES
Order Passeriformes Family Sylviidae Species Cisticola juncidis
Fan-tailed Warbler

dark brown and buff
very short, stripes on head
round wings
cream and
black stripes
on back

small,
round
tail
short, narrow, often
fanned, tail with black
and white spots below
IN FLIGHT
unmarked,
pale buff
underside
thin pink
legs
FLIGHT: typically low, fast, whirring, rather weak;
song-flight higher, bounding but slow.
mall and insignificant, the Fan-tailed Warbler
Sor Zitting Cisticola is the one European
representative of a widespread African and south
Asian genus of small, confusingly similar warblers.
It is usually revealed by its song, a repetition of a
single, sharp, penetrating note given with each bound DEAD GRASS PATTERN
of a deeply undulating song-flight.Visually, it looks The pale and dark streaks on the
unlike any other European bird despite its basic back camouflage this warbler in
small, streaky impression, but that itself may make it brown grass and reed stems.
puzzling if it is silent and skulking in low vegetation.
Females may have two or more broods, paired with
different males.
VOICE Loud chip call; song usually in deeply
undulating song-flight, single short, sharp, penetrating
note with each bound, zeet...zeet...zeet...zeet.
NESTING Deep, flexible, pear- or flask-shaped nest
of grass, feathers, and cobwebs in tall grass; 4–6 eggs;
2 or 3 broods;April–June.
FEEDING Takes insects, spiders, and seeds from
rough grass.
OCCURRENCE
SIMILAR SPECIES Local breeder around
Mediterranean, in Spain, Portugal,
SEDGE WARBLER bold stripe GRASSHOPPER WARBLER and on Atlantic coast of France.
see p.322 over eye see p.328
In usual range all year but subject
bolder stripe bigger and to reductions in range in hard
over eye
bigger longer winters. In grassy places, marshes,
bigger dunes, and sometimes cereal fields
with grassy edges.
WINCHAT 32;
perches more long, slim Seen in the UK
openly; see p.302 tail JF M A M J JA S ON D
Length 10–11cm (4–4 1 ⁄2in) Wingspan 12–15cm (4 3 ⁄4 –6in) Weight 10g ( 3 ⁄8oz)
Social Solitary Lifespan Up to 5 years Status Secure†
327