Zitting Cisticola

• GeneralIt sews a purse-shaped nest among the grass stems with spider silk.
• It is the only European representative of the family Cisticolidae, which brings together some 110 species, almost all of them African.
• The male weaves the outer structure of the nest, an elongated pouch of grasses stitched together with cobweb, and the female finishes the inner lining; he builds several nests one after another to attract different females.
• Its Spanish name is bewildering for a bird of ten grams, and the local vernacular names poke fun at it: Cienlibras (hundredweight) in Doñana, Tumbabarcos (boat-sinker) in Huelva or Esclafamuntanyes (mountain-crusher) in Valencia.
• It is one of the smallest birds in Europe, and its Iberian folk names make fun of the fact: in Doñana it is known in Spanish as Cienlibras ('hundredweight'), in Valencia as Esclafamuntanyes ('mountain-crusher') and in Huelva as Tumbabarcos ('boat-toppler') or Bueyesito ('little ox'). It is very sensitive to cold: a cold snap can wipe out whole populations, as was documented in the Basque Country.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)

Habitat & environment

Damp grassland, rice fields and low reedbeds

Sexual maturity

The young are able to breed when only a few months old

Gestation / incubation

13 days, by the female alone

Litter / clutch size

4-7 eggs, white or bluish and often speckled. The chicks fledge at 15 days and are independent at 20

Sources consulted: SEO/BirdLife (ficha y III Atlas, Galarza 2022); IUCN Red List; Asturnatura; Galarza 1993, Ardeola 40(2); Tellería, Asensio y Díaz 1999, Aves Ibéricas II

Best time: All year round; it is an essentially resident species