Madagascar cisticolas are small cisticolas, 11 cm long and weighing 8-11 g. Overall they have brownish streaked backs, wings and heads and pale undersides.

[2] It is found across the whole of Madagascar and the islands of Astove and Cosmoledo in the Seychelles.

The Seychelles birds are suspected to be recent arrivals, although there are some early records of the species there.

[2] It occupies a range of open habitats, including savannah, grasslands, marshes, pastures, scrublands and forest edges and clearings.

It is also found in a variety of human modified habitats, including paddy fields and croplands.