Location: ZOO, Warsaw, Poland
Specie: 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 Ploceidae. It is common in wetlands and grassland in Africa south of the Equator. North of the Equator, it is replaced by the Northern Red Bishop or Orange Bishop (E. franciscanus) which was formerly regarded as a subspecies of this species.
It is 10–11 centimetres long and has a thick conical bill. Breeding males are brightly-coloured with red (occasionally orange) and black plumage. The forehead, face and throat are black and the rest of the head is red. The upperparts are red apart from the brown wings and tail. The upper breast and under tail-coverts are red while the lower breast and belly are black. The non-breeding male and female have streaky brown plumage, paler below. Females are smaller than the males.
It occurs from South Africa north to Angola, southern and eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, southern Uganda and south-west Kenya. It is largely absent from the Namib Desert and Kalahari.
In the breeding season it is found near water among grass, reeds, sedges or crops such as sugar cane. Outside the breeding season it will venture into drier grassland and savanna habitats.
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