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The black bishop (''Euplectes gierowii'') is a species of
At , the black bishop is large for its genus. 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. 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. The calls comprise various subdued twittering sounds, including ', ', and '.
Dozens of names in other languages
Black bishop species text
on Weaver Watch {{Taxonbar, from=Q1304641 black bishop Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa black bishop
passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
in the family Ploceidae
Ploceidae is a family of small passerine birds, many of which are called weavers, weaverbirds, weaver finches and bishops. These names come from the nests of intricately woven vegetation created by birds in this family. In most recent classifica ...
native to Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
south of the Sahara. Three subspecies are recognised.
Taxonomy
The black bishop was first described by the German ornithologistJean Cabanis
Jean Louis Cabanis (8 March 1816 – 20 February 1906) was a German ornithologist.
Cabanis was born in Berlin to an old Huguenot family who had moved from France. Little is known of his early life. He studied at the University of Berlin from 1 ...
in 1880 and named after H. Gierow, a Swedish explorer and collector in Angola. It is sometimes placed with ''E. aureus'' and ''E. hordeaceus'' in a separate genus, ''Groteiplectes''.
A study of the molecular phylogeny
A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spe ...
of bishops and widowbird
''Euplectes'' is a genus of passerine bird in the weaver family, Ploceidae. It contains the bishops and widowbirds. They are all native to Africa south of the Sahara. It is believed that all birds in the genus are probably polygynous.
The gen ...
s 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
The northern red bishop or orange bishop (''Euplectes franciscanus'') is a small passerine bird in the family Ploceidae. It is part of the largest genus in the family with over 60 different species.Arkhipov, Vladimir Yu, Leon A Bennun, David Brew ...
(''E. franciscanus''), southern red bishop
The southern red bishop or red bishop (''Euplectes orix'') 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 Eq ...
(''E. orix''), Zanzibar red bishop (''E. nigroventris'') and red-collared widowbird
The red-collared widowbird (''Euplectes ardens'') is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. Red-collared widowbirds are found in grasslands and bush clearings in Eastern and Southern Africa. They are known for their long tails and brilliant r ...
(''E. ardens''). An alternate common name is Gierow's bishop.
Subspecies
Three subspecies of the black bishop are now recognized. * ''E. g. ansorgei'' ( E. Hartert, 1899), or northern black bishop, inhabits Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya – especially around Lake Victoria basin and Kakamega. This subspecies is named after its discoverer Dr. W. J. Ansorge. * ''E. g. gierowii'' Cabanis, 1880, known as the Angola black bishop, inhabits Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. * ''E. g. friederichseni'' Fischer and A. Reichenow, 1884, or southern black bishop, inhabits Kenya and Tanzania around Babati, and sporadically to Lake Manyara andSerengeti National Park
The Serengeti National Park is a large national park in northern Tanzania that stretches over . It is located entirely in eastern Mara Region and north east portion of Simiyu Region and contains over of virgin savanna. The park was established in ...
; possibly along Southern Uaso Nyiro River.
Description
At , the black bishop is large for its genus. 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. 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. The calls comprise various subdued twittering sounds, including ', ', and '.
Distribution and habitat
The black bishop is native toAngola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
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, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
, Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
, Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
, South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...
, Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
, and Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...
. Its preferred habitats are grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...
s, shrublands, and wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...
s.
Behaviour
The black bishop can sometimes be found in small flocks, but is not a highly gregarious species, especially when nesting. It is probably polygynous. The male defends theterritory
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
during breeding season.
References
External links
Dozens of names in other languages
Black bishop species text
on Weaver Watch {{Taxonbar, from=Q1304641 black bishop Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa black bishop