Northern Red Bishop - BirdForum Opus

Euplectes franciscanus

Photo by AJDH
Badaan Farm, Bahrain

Identification

• Orange-red body
• Back belly
• Black crown, face, and bill
• Brown vwings
• Long orange-red uppertail coverts (extend over short, brown tail)
  

Non-breeding male, female, and juvenile

• Brown-streaked upperparts
• Pale yellow throat
• Brown-streaked yellow sides
• White underparts
• Pinkish-grey bill

Displaying male and female
Steve G
Kotu, The Gambia, October 2008

Distribution

Native across Africa south of Sahara, it is found naturalized in other parts of the world due to the cage trade.

Taxonomy

This is either a monotypic species^[1], or one containing two subspecies, franciscanus and pusillus^[2].

Habitat

Open savanna with tall shrubs and trees.

Behaviour

Diet

Diet includes the green and ripe seeds of grasses and small brush. They may feed on the ground or by hanging from seed heads of grass and plant stems.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase
3. What Bird

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Northern Red Bishop. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 7 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Northern_Red_Bishop

External Links

Search for photos of Northern Red Bishop in the gallery

• View more images of this species on the African Bird Image Database.