11. CISTICOLA. 235 



11. CISTICOLA. Tji,e. 



Cisticola, Kaup, Skizz. nat. Si/sf. eur. Thienv. p. 119 



(1829) C. cisticola. 



Hemipteryx, Swainson, Classif. B. ii. p. 2:24 (1837) .... C. textrix. 



Melocichla, Hartl. Orn. W.-Afr. p. 271 (1857) C. mentalis. 



Calamanthella, Swiuh. N. China Branch As. Soc. p. 



(1859) C. cisticola. 



Franklinia, Jerd. B. Ind. ii. p. 18G (1863) C. buchanani. 



Drvmodyta, Sundev. Av. Meth. Tent. p. (JO (1872) .... C. tinniens. 



Cis'todyta, Sundev. Av. Meth. Tent. p. 6 (1872) C. ruficeps. 



Bill and tail of Cisticola cisticola. 



Range. Southern Europe and countries bordering the Mediter- 

 ranean, eastwards to India, Ceylon, the Burmese countries and 

 China, as well as Japan, the Malayan peninsula, and throughout 

 the whole of the Indo-Malayan and Austro-ilalayan subregions, the 

 Papuan subregion and Australia. The whole of Africa and Mada- 

 gascar. 



I have examined the types of Heuglin's species of Cisticolte con- 

 tained in the Museums of Berlin, Stuttgardt, and Tienna, as well as 

 all the specimens of Grass-Warblers in the collections of Mr. 

 Seebohm, Capt. Shelley, and Captain Wardlaw Ramsay ; and I have 

 come to the following conclusions respecting the changes of plumage 

 in the Cisticolce : — (1) That the male and female are more or less 

 different in the breeding-plumage, the tendency being in the male to 

 have a uniform head, while the female's is striped ; (2) The female's 

 winter plumage resembles her summer dress, but is rather more 

 mealy and the tail is longer ; (3) A moult takes place in spring and 

 autumn, and at the latter season the male passes into a winter plu- 

 mage, when he resembles the female ; (-4) The young on leaving the 

 nest resemble the old female in her winter plumage ; (o) The young 

 in their first winter plumage resemble the old female, but have very 

 much longer tails and appear larger ; (6) The raale is always larger 

 than the female. The above points are generally characteristic of 

 the genus Cisticola ; but there are probably exceptions, especially 

 among the plain-backed species, as the plumages of many of these 

 have not yet been discovered. 



