29. Zitting Cisticola

We used to call it Fan-tailed Warbler, but they changed its name to Zitting Cisticola. It sounds grander now, but for all that, the bird remains a tiny thing! Indeed the Zitting Cisticola (M: Bufula ta' l-iMrewha) is the smallest bird that breeds in the Maltese Islands. The diminutive size, however, belies a very energetic nature: whether it's flying its characteristic bouncing song flight, or flitting through trees, shrubs and tall grass looking for insects, this bird is rarely still. Its endless tsipp! tsipp! tsipp! territorial song is familiar with anyone who roams the countryside in spring. What's more, the male is polygamous, holding more than one nesting female in his territory, each of which can lay up to three clutches in one season. The Zitting Cisticola began nesting in Malta in the mid 1970s, and rapidly spread to many parts of the countryside, no doubt thanks to its prolific breeding!

Text by Victor Falzon, photo by Denis Cachia. Copyright to Birdlife Malta.