Scientific name: Cisticola juncidis (Rafinesque, 1810)
Bird group: Warblers
Field characters. 10 cm. Upperparts yellow-brown with black stripes on head and back, wings with black spots and stripes. Rump rufous, tail short and rounded with black and white spots on the underside, underparts with rufous flanks and white throat and belly. Easy to identify by very small size in combination with short rounded tail and habits. Difficult to see, except in song-flight. Constantly moving and flicking with wings and tail.
Voice. Calls 'tzik', 'plit', sometimes rattling. Song, given in characteristic song flight, is a monotonous repetition of 'sip sip'. Rises with whirring wing beats and suddenly stops flying, uttering a 'sip' on the highest point, then falls, rises again, etc. During the rise, tail is spread, making the black and white spots on the underside well visible.
Distribution. Common resident. Susceptible to frost, and range is strongly reduced after severe winter.
Habitat. All kinds of low grassy vegetation, often near water and in marshy areas, but also on dry fields.
Food. Small insects, possibly seeds.