Cisticolidae Cisticolas and Allies

These fine-billed, long-tailed, warbler-like birds reach their greatest diversity in Africa, with good numbers in Asia and very few in Australia. The apalises are the most boldly colored and patterned in the family, and the cisticolas are the most speciose. Much like acrocephalids in their preference for grassy or wet areas, the different Cisticola species vary dramatically in size and in the character of syllables in their trilled songs. In many habitats of the Old World, these bright, repetitive songs are some of the most characteristic and often-heard. Cisticolas reach reproductive maturity as rapidly as any bird, and their high-throughput life history may be what makes them especially attractive as hosts for brood parasites, including cuckoos, honeyguides, and viduids.