Yellow Bishop
Euplectes capensis
The Yellow Bishop (Euplectes capensis) is a uncommon weaver found in 19 countries, weighing about 31 g. The yellow bishop, also known as Cape bishop, Cape widow or yellow-rumped widow, is a resident breeding Afromontane bird species.
About the Yellow Bishop
The yellow bishop, also known as Cape bishop, Cape widow or yellow-rumped widow, is a resident breeding Afromontane bird species.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
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.
What the Yellow Bishop sounds like
Where it lives
When to see it
The Yellow Bishop can be seen all year round, with peak activity in October. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Yellow Bishop?
- The yellow bishop is a stocky 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long bird. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Yellow Bishop?
- The Yellow Bishop is a small sized bird weighing about 31 g.
- Where can you see a Yellow Bishop?
- The Yellow Bishop occurs in 19 countries, including South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
- What does a Yellow Bishop sound like?
- You can listen to a field recording of the Yellow Bishop on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to a Yellow Bishop?
- The Yellow Bishop is most easily confused with the Northern Red Bishop, the Yellow-crowned Bishop and the White-winged Widowbird.
- Is the Yellow Bishop endangered?
- The Yellow Bishop is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Yellow Bishop for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
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