Yellow Bishop
Euplectes capensis
Chunky and large-billed bishop. Male shows yellow shoulders and rump in all plumages, but is otherwise the black in breeding plumage and streaky brown in non-breeding plumage. The female is brown and heavily streaked below, without yellow highlights. Found in grassland, open woodland, heathland, and cultivation. Usually in flocks, especially when not breeding. Song consists of simple twitters and sizzling notes. Females could be confused with many other species but usually associate with males, which show distinctive yellow shoulders and rump.
Identification
The yellow bishop is a stocky 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long bird. The breeding male is black apart from his bright yellow lower back, rump, and shoulder patches, and brown edging to the wing feathers. He has a short crest, thick conical black bill, and a relatively short tail. His bill size varies dramatically between races.<p>In non-breeding plumage, the black plumage is replaced by heavily streaked buffy-brown, and the bill is pale. The yellow shoulders and rump remain, and are a distinction from the female which lacks the contrasting colour patches. The juveniles and females are notoriously difficult to identify in the field, appearing identical to the juveniles and females of several other bishops and widowbirds as well as some seedeaters.<p>In the breeding season they are usually solitary or in pairs, but the non-breeding yellow bishop is gregarious, often forming flocks with other 'mixed euplectes'.<p>They feed on seed, grain and some insects.
Taxonomy
In 1760, the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the yellow bishop in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected from the Cape of Good Hope. He used the French name Le pinçon du Cap de Bonne Espérance and the Latin Fringilla Capitis Bonae Spei. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the yellow bishop. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Loxia capensis and cited Brisson's work. The specific name capensis denotes the Cape of Good Hope. This species is now placed in the genus Euplectes that was introduced by the English naturalist William John Swainson in 1829 with the southern red bishop as the type species. There are six subspecies.
- Scientific name
- Euplectes capensis
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ploceidae
- Genus
- Euplectes
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Preuss's Weaver
Ploceus preussi
A yellow-and-black weaver with a distinctive golden-chestnut crown and a yellow back that extends to the upper tail. The forehead of the male is golden-chestnut, while that of the female is black. Juvenile has a yellow-olive head and a pale bill. An uncommon resident in primary and secondary forest, often joining mixed-species flocks and clambering along tree trunks like a nuthatch. Often found in pairs. Mostly silent, but a harsh “chwep” call has been recorded. Yellow-capped Weaver is similar to Preuss’s but has a dark lower back and rump and does not creep along branches and trunks; Brown-capped Weaver has a dark crown and prefers the mountains.
Red-headed Bluebill
Spermophaga ruficapilla
Pretty member of the waxbill family that has a massive, conical bill. Males have a black belly and females a spotted one, and both sexes show an all-red head. Found in rainforest, gallery forest, thickets, and secondary habitats. Usually in pairs or small groups, in areas with thick undergrowth, and usually some grass. Sometimes on roads and paths. Vocalizations include a quiet “schpit” call and a rarely-heard whistled song. Similar to Grant’s Bluebill, but separated by all-red head. Male similar to male Black-bellied Seedcracker, but separated by its black tail and its red-and-blue rather than all-blue bill.
Rufous-banded Honeyeater
Conopophila albogularis
Small honeyeater with white throat and orange-red breast band. Face is gray, back is brown, and belly is white. Feeds on insects and nectar in woodlands, often near water. Also found in mangroves. Juveniles lack the rusty breast band and also have pink on the bill. Found at lower altitudes in northern Australia and New Guinea. This species is abundant in parks and gardens in Darwin.
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