Southern Red Bishop - BirdForum Opus

Alternative name: Southern Red Bishop

Male and female
Photo by Mybs
Plattekloof Hill, near Cape Town, South Africa

Euplectes orix

Identification

13-15 cm
Breeding Male

• Orange to scarlet head, back and undertail coverts
• Black facial mask
• Black belly

Distribution

Africa south of the Sahara Desert.
Introduced populations exist, eg. in Andalucia (Spain).

Taxonomy

Euplectes orix has three subspecies:¹

• E. o. nigrifrons

• Eastern Zaire to Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique

• E. o. orix

• Southern Angola to Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique and Northern Cape Province

• E. o. sundevalli

• Zimbabwe to southern Mozambique and north-eastern South Africa

Habitat

Open country, tall grassland, near water.

Behaviour

Breeding

Its nest is spherical and woven, and is situated in tall grass. It lays 2 - 4 eggs.

Diet

It feeds on seed, grain and some insects.

Vocalisation

Call: a thin tsip

References

1. Clements JF. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Southern Red Bishop. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Southern_Red_Bishop

External Links

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