- Euplectes capensis
Identification
15 cm (6 in)
Breeding Male
- Black plumage
- Yellow lower back, rump, and shoulder patches
- Brown edging to the wing feathers
- Short crest
- Thick conical black bill
- Short tail
Non-breeding plumage
- Black areas become heavily streaked brown
- Pale bill
- Yellow shoulders and rump
The female is similar to the non-breeding male but lacks the contrasting colour patches.
Distribution
Eastern and Southern Africa
Western Africa: Guinea, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, eSwatini
African Islands: Gulf of Guinea Islands: Bioko (Fernando Po)
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Euplectes capensis has six subspecies:[1]
- E. c. phoenicomerus
- E. c. crassirostris
- North-eastern South Africa to Uganda, Sudan and Kenya
- E. c. xanthomelas
- E. c. angolensis
- Northern and central highlands of Angola
- E. c. approximans
- Eastern South Africa (Knysna to Gauteng Province)
- E. c. capensis
- Western South Africa to Knysna
Habitat
Montane damp grassland.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet consists mostly of grass seeds, including rice, maize and millet. Supplemented with insects.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved October 2014)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Yellow Bishop. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 6 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Yellow_Bishop
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.