| Black bishop | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Male in Bigodi Swamp, Uganda | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Ploceidae |
| Genus: | Euplectes |
| Species: | E. gierowii |
| Binomial name | |
| Euplectes gierowii Cabanis, 1880 | |
| Synonyms | |
Pyromelana ansorgei | |
The black bishop (Euplectes gierowii) is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to Africa south of the Sahara. [2] Three subspecies are recognised.
The black bishop was first described by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis in 1880 and named after H. Gierow, a Swedish explorer and collector in Angola. [3] It is sometimes placed with E. aureus and E. hordeaceus in a separate genus, Groteiplectes. [4]
A study of the molecular phylogeny of bishops and widowbirds published in 2008 found that it formed part of a clade along with the fire-fronted bishop (E. diadematus), black-winged red bishop (E. hordeaceus), northern red bishop (E. franciscanus), southern red bishop (E. orix), Zanzibar red bishop (E. nigroventris) and red-collared widowbird (E. ardens). [5] An alternate common name is Gierow's bishop.
Three subspecies of the black bishop are now recognized. [4] [6]
At 14 to 16 cm (5.5–6.3 in), the black bishop is large for its genus. [7] [9] The breeding male is black on the wings, tail, chest, cheeks and forehead. The neck, back of the head and breast band) are orange or orange-red. The under tail-coverts are pale buff with black streaks, and the upper back is yellow or orange-yellow in subspecies ansorgei, and orange in friederichseni. The throat is scarlet in the nominate subspecies and black in ansorgei. The subspecies friederichseni has the undertail coverts isabelline. The upper back is golden yellow and the rump is brown. The conical bill, characteristic of finches, is black and the tarsus is brown. [8] Females are dark, including the sides of the face, have boldly spotted under tail-coverts, and dark spots on a buff breast. The female's wing linings are black. The non-breeding male is black on the back, wings and rump, with yellowish supercilia and chin; the sides of face and breast are tawny buff. The juvenile resembles the female but has smaller breast spots. [7] The calls comprise various subdued twittering sounds, [9] including see-zee see-zee see-zhe see-zhe SEE-ZHEE, zee-zee-zeezee-zee, and hishaah, hishaah, SHAAAAAAH, tsee-tseet-tseet-tseet. [7]
The black bishop is native to Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its preferred habitats are grasslands, shrublands, and wetlands. [1]
The black bishop can sometimes be found in small flocks, but is not a highly gregarious species, [9] especially when nesting. [7] It is probably polygynous. The male defends the territory during breeding season. [10]
The African thrush or West African thrush is a passerine bird in the thrush family Turdidae. It is common in well-wooded areas over much of the western part of sub-Saharan Africa, it was once considered to be conspecific with the olive thrush but that species has now been split further. Populations are resident (non-migratory).
The northern red bishop or orange bishop is a small passerine bird in the family Ploceidae. It is part of the largest genus in the family with over 60 different species. Its sister species is the Southern red bishop. This species is most recognizable by the bright reddish orange with contrasting black plumage displayed by the breeding male. It is most common throughout the northern African continent but has also been introduced to areas in the western hemisphere.
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.
The orange-winged pytilia, also known as the golden-backed pytilia, is a species of estrildid finch found in Africa. It has a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed it as being of least concern.
The little grey greenbul is a species of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is widely distributed across the African tropical rainforest. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical swamps.
Cabanis's greenbul, also known as Cabanis's bulbul, is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found in east-central and south-central Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland.
The African barred owlet is a species of small owl in the family Strigidae found in much of southern, central and eastern Africa. The taxon may be four species rather than a single species.
The grey penduline tit, also known as the African penduline-tit, is a species of bird in the family Remizidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, dry savanna, and moist savanna. At 8 to 9 cm in length and a weight of 6.5 g (0.23 oz), it is one of the smallest species of bird found in Africa, along with its cousin the Cape penduline tit and the perhaps smaller mouse-colored penduline tit and the tit hylia.
The white-browed robin-chat, also known as Heuglin's robin, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. Found in east, central and southern Africa, its natural habitats include riverine forest and thickets, and it is also found near humans. The IUCN classifies it as a least-concern species.
The white-browed scrub robin, also known as the red-backed scrub-robin, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa, especially East and southern Africa. Within range, its Turdus-like song is one of the often-heard sounds of the bush. The flitting of the tail is characteristic of this species, but also of some near relatives.
The 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.
The marsh widowbird or Hartlaub's widowbird is a bird in the family Ploceidae. The species was first described by José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage in 1878.
The yellow-mantled widowbird, also known as the yellow-backed widow, is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae.
The long-tailed widowbird is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. The species are found in Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa, Eswatini, and Zambia. The long-tailed widowbird is a medium-sized bird and one of the most common in the territories it inhabits. Adult breeding males are almost entirely black with orange and white shoulders (epaulets), long, wide tails, and a bluish white bill. Females are rather inconspicuous, their feathers streaked tawny and black with pale patches on the chest, breast and back, narrow tail feathers, and horn-colored bills.
The African pitta is an Afrotropical bird of the family Pittidae. It is a locally common to uncommon species, resident and migratory in the west, and an intra-African migrant between equatorial and southeastern Africa. They are elusive and hard to observe despite their brightly coloured plumage, and their loud, explosive calls are infrequently heard. The plump, somewhat thrush-like birds forage on leaf litter under the canopy of riparian or coastal forest and thickets, or in climax miombo forest. They spend much time during mornings and at dusk scratching in leaf litter or around termitaria, or may stand motionless for long periods. Following rains breeding birds call and display from the mid-canopy.
The black-fronted bushshrike is a passerine bird of the bushshrike family, Malaconotidae. It inhabits forests mainly in East Africa. It forms a superspecies with the many-colored bushshrike and the two are sometimes considered to be a single species.
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.
The white-winged widowbird is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to Africa south of the Sahara. It is highly sexually dimorphic in its breeding season, during which the male's yellow plumage turns dark and he gains more white feathers, contrasting with the female's predominantly pale coloration. Three subspecies are recognised.
The yellow-crowned bishop is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to Africa south of the Sahara. It is highly sexually dimorphic in its breeding season, during which the male adopts a distinctive yellow and black plumage, contrasting with the female's predominantly brown coloration. Four subspecies are recognised.
