About Cisticola brachypterus (Sharpe, 1870)
The short-winged cisticola, scientifically named Cisticola brachypterus (Sharpe, 1870), is also commonly called the siffling cisticola. It is a bird species that belongs to the family Cisticolidae. This species has been recorded in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The short-winged cisticola resembles the neddicky, another similar species in the genus Cisticola, but can be distinguished by its lack of a rufous crown, shorter tail, and clear buff-colored underparts. It is widespread across sub-Saharan Africa, ranging from West Africa east to Ethiopia and south to southern Mozambique. Within this range, it is locally common in woodland clearings, particularly in miombo (Brachystegia) woodland, and also occurs in other types of savanna woodland. It also inhabits thickets that contain termite mounds, vegetation growing along drainage lines, and the edges of cultivated areas. The short-winged cisticola feeds primarily on insects, including termites, grasshoppers (order Orthoptera), beetles (order Coleoptera), and bugs (order Hemiptera). It forages discreetly in grass tufts and on the ground.
