Croaking Cisticola

Open encyclopedia reference

The croaking cisticola (Cisticola natalensis) is an Old World warbler in the family Cisticolidae. It is a resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara. The croaking cisticola is an insectivorous passerine that is found in rank grassland habitats, often near swamps or water. Male cisticolas are polygamous; the female builds a discreet nest deep in the grasses, often binding living leaves into the soft fabric of felted plant-down, cobwebs, and grass. The croaking cisticola's nest is a ball shape with a side entrance; 2-4 eggs are laid. This is the largest cisticola. This warbler is grey-brown above, heavily streaked with black. The underparts are whitish, and the tail is broad, pale-tipped and flicked frequently. It has a chestnut wing-panel and a heavy bill. It is very similar to other members of its genus. It is best distinguished from its many African relatives by its size and froglike croaking breep-breep song. The song is always the easiest identification criterion for this genus.

Wikipedia contributors, Croaking cisticola; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:07:39.934280+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Cisticola natalensis (A. Smith, 1843)

Name authority

(A. Smith, 1843)

Common name

Croaking Cisticola

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Cisticolidae

Genus

Cisticola

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderPasseriformes
10. familyCisticolidae Sundevall, 1872
11. genusCisticola Kaup, 1829
12. speciesCisticola natalensis (A. Smith, 1843)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Cisticola. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 120 records assigned to Cisticolidae.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=559342 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:VLF2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.