Levaillant's cisticola

Cisticola tinniens

The Levaillant's cisticola (Cisticola tinniens) is a bird found in South Africa. Reed beds and wet grass in southern and central Africa. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, fruit and seeds and nuts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Cisticola tinniens
Region	Africa
Found in	South Africa

🏡 Where the Levaillant's cisticola lives

Reed beds and wet grass in southern and central Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs70%
🍎 Fruit10%
🌰 Seeds & nuts10%
🌿 Leaves & plants10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It sings a tinkling song while flying above the marsh.

Hear the Levaillant's cisticola

Recorded by African Bioacoustics Community (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1172475. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Levaillant's cisticola

Where does the Levaillant's cisticola live?

The Levaillant's cisticola lives in South Africa. Reed beds and wet grass in southern and central Africa.

What does the Levaillant's cisticola eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 70%), fruit (about 10%), seeds and nuts (about 10%), leaves and other plant parts (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Levaillant's cisticola endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Africa

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.