About the Southern Red Bishop
The southern red bishop or red bishop is a small passerine bird belonging to the bishop and widowbird genus Euplectes in the weaver family, the Ploceidae. It is common in wetlands and grassland in Africa south of the Equator. North of the Equator, it is replaced by the northern red bishop or orange bishop which was formerly regarded as a subspecies of this species.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
The southern red bishop is 10–11 centimetres long and has a thick conical bill. Breeding males are brightly coloured with red (occasionally orange) and black plumage. The forehead, face and throat are black and the rest of the head is red. The upperparts are red apart from the brown wings and tail. The upper breast and under tail-coverts are red while the lower breast and belly are black. The non-breeding male and female have streaky brown plumage, paler below. Females are smaller than the males. It has various twittering calls and a nasal contact call. The male has a buzzing song.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Portugal, Spain, United States, Benin, Canada, Guadeloupe, Oman, Taiwan.
When to see it
Peak activity in January · a resident species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Long-tailed WidowbirdEuplectes progneLong-tailed widowbirds exhibit distinct sexual dimorphism.
Fan-tailed WidowbirdEuplectes axillarisThe fan-tailed widowbird, also known as the red-shouldered widowbird, is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae, which is native to grassy and swampy areas of the tropical and subtropical Afrotropics.
Red-collared WidowbirdEuplectes ardensSimilar to other widowbirds, male red-collared widowbirds have both seasonal and sexual dimorphism.
Learn the Southern Red Bishop for real
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