Yellow-crowned Bishop
Euplectes afer
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyPloceidae (Weavers and Allies)
- GenusEuplectes (Bishops and Widowbirds)
- SpeciesEuplectes afer (Yellow-crowned Bishop)
About the Yellow-crowned Bishop
The yellow-crowned bishop (Euplectes afer) is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to Africa south of the Sahara. It is highly sexually dimorphic in its breeding season, during which the male adopts a distinctive yellow and black plumage, contrasting with the female's predominantly brown coloration. Four subspecies are recognised.
The yellow-crowned bishop was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the crossbills in the genus Loxia and coined the binomial name Loxia afra. The specific epithet is from Latin afer meaning "Africa". Gmelin based his account on the "Black-bellied grossbeak" that had been described and illustrated in 1776 by the English naturalist Peter Brown. Gmelin specified the location as Africa but this was restricted to Senegal by Claude Grant and Cyril Mackworth-Praed in 1944. The yellow-crowned bishop is now one of 18 species placed in the genus Euplectes that was introduced in 1829 by the English naturalist William Swainson.
A molecular genetic study published in 2019 found that within the genus Euplectes... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Yellow-crowned Bishop in Amboseli National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Amboseli National Park
Fan-tailed Widowbird
Euplectes axillaris
White-winged Widowbird
Euplectes albonotatus
Red Bishop
Euplectes orix
Zanzibar Bishop
Euplectes nigroventris
Yellow-rumped Widowbird
Euplectes capensis
Red-collared Widowbird
Euplectes ardens
Fire-fronted Bishop
Euplectes diadematus
White-headed Buffalo-Weaver
Dinemellia dinemelli
Taveta Golden-Weaver
Ploceus castaneiceps
Red-billed Quelea
Quelea quelea
Red-billed Buffalo-Weaver
Bubalornis niger
Lesser Masked-Weaver
Ploceus intermedius
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 4 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 6 | Niokolo-Koba National Park | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 7 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 9 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 10 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 11 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 12 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 13 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 14 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 15 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 16 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 17 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 18 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 19 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 20 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 21 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 22 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 23 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 24 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Yellow-crowned Bishop in Amboseli National Park?
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-crowned Bishop sighting in Amboseli National Park, based on 144 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Yellow-crowned Bishop in Amboseli National Park?
March has the highest sighting rate for Yellow-crowned Bishop in Amboseli National Park in our monthly data.