Yellow-Crowned Bishop
Place to admire: Tropical Paradise
Scientific name: Euplectes afer
IUCN-status: Least concern
Habitat
The Yellow-Crowned Bishop is found in Africa. This bird species lives in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Uganda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Chad, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and South Sudan.
This bird species inhabits (sub-) tropical dry grasslands, (sub-) tropical seasonal wet and flooded grasslands, and man-made areas such as construction sites. In addition, the Yellow-Crowned Bishop occurs in inland wetlands with pocket forests, swamps, fens and seasonal freshwater marshes.
Appearance
The Yellow Crowned-Bishop has a size of 10 centimeters. This bird species is a relatively small bird with a very short tail.
The breeding plumage of the male is spectacular. The male has a golden yellow forehead, crown and neck. The hind neck feathers turn black. The mantle contains a dark brown color, with yellow tips. The back and rump color yellow. The side of the head, chin, throat and belly contain a black color. The breast has a broad, yellow breast band. In addition, the flanks, wings and undertail coverts color yellow. The beak colors black.
A female and a non-breeding male have brown plumage. The feathers contain dark and central stripes. The chin, breast and belly are whitish in color. Dark shaft stripes run on the flanks. The breast contains a dark band. The undertail coverts have a whitish hue. The upper jaw of the bill is dark brown, while the lower jaw is light brown in color.
Diet
The Yellow-Crowned Bishop is known as a herbivore, but this bird species is specifically a granivore. This means that in the wild its diet consists mainly of grass seeds.
Natural behavior
The Yellow-Crowned Bishop often forages in mixed groups outside the breeding season. This bird species looks for birds on the ground, as well as in vegetation.
During the breeding season, the male weaves a spherical nest, consisting of blades of grass and other plant material. The female chooses her mate based on the quality of the nest and the intensity of the courtship display.
The male initiates the courtship display. He fluffs out his body feathers until he resembles a “Bumblebee.” Then the male starts making “bumblebee flights” when he sees a female approaching. During the courtship display, the male uses the ground, various branches or grass stalks to attract the female. The male puts his chest forward and flutters his wings. At the same time, the male sings a melodious song. Then the male makes waving movements with the head, showing his bright yellow crown to the potential mate.