Black-winged Red Bishop
Euplectes hordeaceus
The Black-winged Red Bishop (Euplectes hordeaceus) is a rare weaver found in 38 countries, weighing about 19 g. The black-winged red bishop, formerly known in southern Africa as the fire-crowned bishop, is a resident breeding bird species in tropical Africa from Senegal to Sudan and south to Angola, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
About the Black-winged Red Bishop
The black-winged red bishop, formerly known in southern Africa as the fire-crowned bishop, is a resident breeding bird species in tropical Africa from Senegal to Sudan and south to Angola, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The black-winged red bishop is a stocky 13–15 cm (5.1–5.9 in) bird. The breeding male is scarlet apart from his black face, belly and wings and brown tail. The conical bill is thick and black. He displays prominently, singing high-pitched twitters from tall grass, puffing out his feathers or performing a slow hovering display flight. The non-breeding male is yellow-brown, streaked above and shading to whitish below. It has a whitish supercilium. It resembles non-breeding male northern red bishop, but is darker and has black wings. Females are similar, but paler.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in South Africa, United States, Guadeloupe, Kuwait.
When to see it
The Black-winged Red Bishop can be seen all year round, with peak activity in November. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Black-winged Red Bishop?
- The black-winged red bishop is a stocky 13–15 cm (5.1–5.9 in) bird. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Black-winged Red Bishop?
- The Black-winged Red Bishop is a small sized bird weighing about 19 g.
- Where can you see a Black-winged Red Bishop?
- The Black-winged Red Bishop occurs in 38 countries, including Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania and the Gambia.
- What birds look similar to a Black-winged Red Bishop?
- The Black-winged Red Bishop is most easily confused with the Yellow-mantled Widowbird, the Black Bishop and the Zanzibar Red Bishop.
- Is the Black-winged Red Bishop endangered?
- The Black-winged Red Bishop is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Black-winged Red Bishop for real
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