Cisticolas are difficult to tell apart. Key is to focus on voice and habitat because plumage is very similar between species. They are small-to-medium sized warblers with a thin, straight bill that is well adapted for gleaning small invertebrates (mostly insects) from foliage. The tail characteristically has sub-terminal dark bands and a pale tip, giving a spotted fan pattern when spread.
There are three groups of cisticolas: plain-backed, mottled-backed and short-tailed (cloud scraper) cisticolas. The short-tailed cisticolas have aerial display flights, some cruising high above ground.
They are monogamous or polygynous (one male pair-bonds with more than one female). They generally have oval-shaped nests with a side-top entrance and usually places in grass tufts. Incubation is done by the female alone, the young are fed by both sexes. Several subspecies are parasitised by Klaas's cuckoo, brown-backed honeybird and cuckoo finch.

Cisticola = inhabitant of a reservoir (significance obscure)

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