About Cisticola fulvicapilla (Vieillot, 1817)
The neddicky, with the scientific name Cisticola fulvicapilla (Vieillot, 1817), is a small, vocal, dull brown bird that measures 11 cm in length. Its tail is not as short as the tails of some other cisticola species. This bird has a reddish cap and a plain back. Its underparts are buff, with a darker tone on the breast. It has a short, straight brown bill, pinkish-brown feet and legs, and a light brown eye. The sexes look similar, while juvenile neddickies are yellower in color than adults. The southern form, found in the southern regions of South Africa, has grey plumage on its face and underparts, and greyish brown plumage on its back. Unlike most cisticolas, which have very similar plumage overall, this group of three greyish-plumaged subspecies is quite distinctive. The neddicky’s typical call is a monotonous, penetrating, repetitive weep weep weep. Its alarm call is a loud clicking tictictictic, which sounds like a fingernail run across the teeth of a comb. The neddicky is a resident breeder across much of Africa, ranging from Gabon, the DRC, Rwanda, and Tanzania south to the Cape. It is a common bird that lives in open woodland habitats, including tree-containing savannah and open plantations of exotic species. It does not live in densely wooded habitats.
