Rattling cisticola

Cisticola chiniana

The Rattling cisticola (Cisticola chiniana) is a bird found in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Bushy savanna across eastern and southern Africa. It eats insects and other small invertebrates and nectar. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

See the Rattling cisticola on the 3D globe →

Scientific name	Cisticola chiniana
Region	Africa
Found in	South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Uganda and Zimbabwe

🏡 Where the Rattling cisticola lives

Bushy savanna across eastern and southern Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs90%
🌸 Nectar10%

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.

💡 Its cheerful call is often one of the first sounds of the African morning.

Hear the Rattling cisticola

Recorded by JJSUN (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1080079. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Rattling cisticola

Where does the Rattling cisticola live?

The Rattling cisticola lives in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Bushy savanna across eastern and southern Africa.

What does the Rattling cisticola eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 90%), nectar (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Rattling 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.