Aberdare Cisticola (Cisticola aberdare)

Aberdare Cisticola

[order] PASSERIFORMES | [family] Cisticolidae | [latin] Cisticola aberdare | [UK] Aberdare Cisticola | [FR] Cisticole de l’Aberdare | [DE] Aberdare-Cistensanger | [ES] | [NL] Aberdare-graszanger

Subspecies

Monotypic species

Physical charateristics

Medium-sized, grass-dwelling warbler. Well-streaked buff-and-black on upperparts. Uniform buffy underparts. Stout Cisticola C. robustus has rufous nape and hindneck and slightly longer tail. Mixture of peeuu tew tew and shorter trills. Mostly silent except when breeding.

Listen to the sound of Aberdare Cisticola

[audio:http://www.aviflevoland.nl/sounddb/A/Aberdare Cisticola.mp3]

Copyright remark: Most sounds derived from xeno-canto

wingspan min.: 0 cm wingspan max.: 0 cm
size min.: 12 cm size max.: 15 cm
incubation min.: 0 days incubation max.: 0 days
fledging min.: 0 days fledging max.: 0 days
broods: 1   eggs min.: 1  
      eggs max.: 2  

Range

Africa : Kenya. Cisticola aberdare is found in central Kenya where it is locally common in suitable habitat on both sides of the Rift Valley, at Molo, Mau Narok and the Aberdare Mountains. Recent reports from suitable habitat at 2,400 m-2,700 m on the Kinangop Plateau, at the base of the Aberdare Mountains, are unconfirmed – if it does occur there, it appears to be rare.

Habitat

It inhabits moist highland grassland above 2,300 m, although in the Aberdares it occurs only on moorland above c.3,000 m. It is often the most abundant cisticola species present

Reproduction

Five clutches (four of two eggs and one of one egg) have been found between early March and mid-June. A nest found on moorland in 2000 was described as a ball of woven soft grass tussocks (Deschampsia flexuosa), lined with the cotton-like seed-head of a thistle species Carduus chamaecephalus, with a side entrance near the top. It was sandwiched in grass about 30 cm off the ground amongst tough grass tussocks and Alchemilla argyrophylla.

Feeding habits

It feeds on insects

Conservation

Within this species’s very small range, much of its habitat is probably being lost rapidly and becoming severely fragmented, owing to agricultural development and intensified livestock production. It is therefore listed as Endangered.
Aberdare Cisticola status Endangered

Migration

Resident throughout range.

Distribution map

Aberdare Cisticola distribution range map

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