Species guide
Southern Red Bishop: how to recognise it
A bird of Africa and Asia. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Calvin Harris · CC BY-NC-SA · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Euplectes orix
- Family
- Weavers and Allies
- Size
- About 11–13 cm
- Habitat
- Reedbeds, grassland and farmland
- Found in
- Africa and Asia
The key marks
The breeding male is flaming red-orange with a black face and belly. Non-breeding males and females are streaky brown.
Voice
A buzzing, sizzling “zeet-zeet” song.
Good to know
In the breeding season the male puffs up his feathers and flies in a buzzing display.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in reedbeds, grassland and farmland. It is especially common in South Africa. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.