The Southern Red Bishop’s striking combination of velvety black plumage and brilliant vermilion makes this little bird quite the show-stopper!
The breeding male of the red bishop (Euplectes orix), also known as the southern red bishop, displays eclipse plumage, a type of plumage that undergoes color changes throughout mating season. The males that are used for breeding are incredibly colorful, with a crimson or orange plumage, wings that are brownish, and a tail that is also brownish. He has a black chest and belly and scarlet to orange undertail coverts and upper body. A black mask-like face and a red ɛeаd complete his appearance.
Females and non-breeding males, on the other hand, lack distinctiveness, having short tails and eyebrows that are a buff tint.
Their very unremarkable plumage makes them difficult to distinguish from other varieties of Bishop.
The work “Southern Red Bishop or Red Bishop (Euplectes orix)” by Derek Keats is made available under a Creative Commons License 2.0..
South of the Equator in Africa, you can find this bird frequently in grasslands and marshes. When you go north of the Equator, you’ll see the northern red bishop instead.
Grass, reeds, sedges, and even crops like sugar cane can be seen near water where the Southern Red Bishop is seen breeding. It will move onto drier grassland and savanna environments when the mating season is over.
The Southern Red Bishop eats both seeds and insects, making it an omnivore.
The southern red bishop is characterized by its polygynous behavior, wherein the male takes more than one female at a time or in succession, but does not help with the incubation or raising of the chicks. He then defends his area from others. During the beginning of mating season, he will construct multiple nests within his domain in an effort to entice females. To make his construction more noticeable, he will wear a bumble bee costume, which is characterized by fluffed feathers. The grass-woven nest, which is typically constructed over water, has an oval shape. Two or four eggs will be laid inside by the female.
