The Wailing Cisticola is a grassland bird with a long tail and streaked back, ranging through eastern and southern Africa.
In the nominate subspecies, the crown is rufous with dark brown streaks, the gray back and rump are streaked blackish brown, and the underparts are buff.
It occurs alone, in pairs or in small family groups. It may perch on shrubs or bracken and forages low in vegetation for insects.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.