Zitting Cisticola

Cisticola juncidis

Named for its staccato 'zit-zit-zit' call, repeated endlessly in bouncy display flights over grass.

Population: ~45.4–73.6 million mature individuals globally (BirdLife/IUCN 2018 estimate, largely extrapolated from European data); global population trend listed as unknown (Europe itself is stable, but Europe represents only ~5% of the species' total range)
Habitat: Open grasslands and wetlands with low, dense vegetation (typically under 1 m tall) — seasonally flooded and grassy wetlands, meadows, fallow land, rice fields, cereal crops and pastures; found from lowlands up to ~1,900–3,000 m locally (e.g. Himalayas, East Africa)
Fun fact: The Zitting Cisticola gets its name from the repetitive "zit" call it gives during its distinctive zigzagging, undulating breeding display flight, and it builds a camouflaged pouch-shaped nest woven from grass with living leaves stitched overhead using spider silk and plant down.
Range: Extremely widespread and largely resident (non-migratory, with local seasonal movements and some East Asian populations migrating): southern and western Europe, most of Africa (excluding deserts and rainforest), southern and eastern Asia, and northern Australia; extent of occurrence roughly 134,000,000 km²; confirmed breeding in Britain for the first time in 2025, indicating continued range expansion
Diet: Insectivorous — grasshoppers, mantids, dragonflies, moths, caterpillars and other insect larvae, mayflies, flies, spiders and snails; occasionally takes grass seeds
Size: 0.11 m
Wingspan: 0.15 m
Lifespan: 7 years

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