These secretive, polka-dotted scraps of life, weighing in at just 9.5g, have been recorded in the area but are seldom seen (thanks, Msunduzi Municipality for the records). They subsist on forest grasses (such as Ribbon bristle grass or Setaria chevalieri), and have been seen eating creeping stinging nettle fruits in Zimbabwe. There are records of them using forest weaver nests at times, but they usually build their own.
Nitidula means bright or shining; Mandingo is the name of a west African group of people near upper Niger.