CreatureData

Grey-backed cisticola

Cisticola subruficapilla (A. Smith, 1843)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The grey-backed cisticola (Cisticola subruficapilla) is a species in the family Cisticolidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 9.25 g to 12.1 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Grey-backed cisticola (Cisticola subruficapilla)
Photo: Alan Manson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the grey-backed cisticola

Weight
9.25 g – 12.1 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrublandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2.8src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the grey-backed cisticola live?

Not recorded

What is the grey-backed cisticola?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The grey-backed cisticola or red-headed cisticola (Cisticola subruficapilla) is a small passerine bird. This cisticola is a resident breeder in southernmost Angola, Namibia and western South Africa.

The grey-backed cisticola is a very common bird of coastal fynbos, karoo shrub and grassy areas on estuarine flats.

From the Wikipedia article “Grey-backed cisticola” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grey-backed_cisticola&oldid=1314597903), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the grey-backed cisticola endangered?

The grey-backed cisticola is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the grey-backed cisticola classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyCisticolidae
  6. genusCisticola
  7. SpeciesCisticola subruficapilla (A. Smith, 1843)

Synonyms Cisticola subruficapillus, Cisticola subruficapillus subruficapillus, Cisticola subruficapillus subruficapillus, Drymoica subruficapilla, Threnodyta subruficapilla

Other names and names in other languages (34)
  • Gray-backed cisticolaEnglish
  • Greybacked cisticolaEnglish
  • Red-headed cisticolaEnglish
  • Red-headed cisticolaEnglish
  • RHCIEnglish
  • GrysrugtinktinkieAfrikaans
  • cistovník šedohřbetýCzech
  • sisticola cefnllwydWelsh
  • Rødhovedet CisticolaDanish
  • BergcistensängerGerman
  • BergzistensängerGerman
  • grizdorsa cistikoloEsperanto
  • Cistícola dorsigrísSpanish
  • punalakkiherttuFinnish
  • punalakkiheinäkerttuFinnish
  • Cisticole à dos grisFrench
  • sivoleđa šivalicaCroatian
  • hegyvidéki szuharbújóHungarian
  • Cisticola testarossaItalian
  • ハイイロセッカJapanese
  • kalninė cistikolaLithuanian
  • RotsgraszangerDutch
  • gråryggressangerNorwegian
  • chwastówka szarogrzbietaPolish
  • fuinha-de-dorso-cinzentoPortuguese
  • Горная цистиколаRussian
  • Рыжеголовая цистиколаRussian
  • cistovník sivochrbtýSlovak
  • Crvenoglava šivačicaSerbian
  • gråryggig cistikolaSwedish
  • Gri Sırtlı YelpazekuyrukTurkish
  • таміка сіроспиннаUkrainian
  • 灰背扇尾莺Chinese
  • 灰背扇尾鶯Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the grey-backed cisticola

Other species in the same genus Cisticola.

CompareGrey-backed cisticola vs Zitting cisticolaGrey-backed cisticola vs Golden-headed cisticolaGrey-backed cisticola vs Rock-loving cisticolaGrey-backed cisticola vs Red-faced cisticola

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the grey-backed cisticola?

An adult grey-backed cisticola weighs 9.25 g – 12.1 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the grey-backed cisticola endangered?

The grey-backed cisticola is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the grey-backed cisticola?

The grey-backed cisticola (Cisticola subruficapilla) belongs to the family Cisticolidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Grey-backed cisticola (Cisticola subruficapilla). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-backed-cisticola

MLA

“Grey-backed cisticola (Cisticola subruficapilla).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-backed-cisticola.

BibTeX
@misc{grey_backed_cisticola_2026,
  title = {Grey-backed cisticola (Cisticola subruficapilla)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-backed-cisticola},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}