Black Bishop - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Davecr24
Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, February 2014

Euplectes gierowii

Identification

15 cm
Breeding male

• Orange forehead, neck and back
• Black rump and uppertail-coverts

Distribution

Africa
Western Africa: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 3 subspecies^[1]:

• E. g. ansorgei:

• Cameroon to Ethiopia and western Kenya

• E. g. friederichseni:

• South-western Kenya to north-central Tanzania

• E. g. gierowii:

• Northern Angola to south-western Zaire

Habitat

Papyrus swamps, tall grassland, scrub and sugar cane plantations.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists of insects, including flying ants and grass seeds.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. BF Member observations
4. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved May 2015)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Black Bishop. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 6 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black_Bishop

External Links

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