Bird Guide

Yellow Bishop vs Yellow-crowned Bishop

Yellow Bishop (Euplectes capensis)

Yellow Bishop

Euplectes capensis

Small31 gGrassland

The yellow bishop is a stocky 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long bird. The breeding male is black apart from his bright yellow lower back, rump, and shoulder patches, and brown edging to the wing feathers. He has a short crest, thick conical black bill, and a relatively short tail. His bill size varies dramatically between races. In non-breeding plumage, the black plumage is replaced by heavily streaked buffy-brown, and the bill is pale. The yellow shoulders and rump remain, and are a distinction from the female which lacks the contrasting colour patches. Voice: Calls include zeet zeet zeet, and a harsh zzzzzzt given by the male in flight. The song of the isolated SW Cameroon phoenicomerus is quite different: a dry rattle followed by swit-err, swit-err.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Yellow Bishop
Recorded by paulo kivuyo · Call · kikatiti, Meru, Arusha Region, Tanzania · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Shaun Swanepoel · CC BY 4.0
Yellow-crowned Bishop (Euplectes afer)

Yellow-crowned Bishop

Euplectes afer

Tiny14 gWetland

The yellow-crowned bishop is 95 to 105 mm (3.7–4.1 in) in length and 15 g (0.53 oz) in weight. During the breeding season it is sexually dimorphic — that is, the observable characteristics of the males become more apparent. During the breeding season, the male has distinctive golden yellow and black plumage. The bill of both sexes is short and conical. The color of the male's bill is black during breeding season; by contrast, during non-breeding season, the male's bill is horn in color, as is the female's. The legs and feet are pinkish brown.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: luckyatabo · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Yellow Bishop and Yellow-crowned Bishop.