Yellow-crowned Bishop

The Yellow-crowned Bishop, also known as the Golden Bishop, is a small weaver-finch found across much of sub-Saharan Africa in marshes and wet grassland. Like its relative the Southern Red Bishop, it shows dramatic seasonal plumage change in the male.

The breeding male is strikingly patterned: a golden-yellow crown, nape, and rump contrast with an otherwise black body, including the face, throat, breast, and back. Non-breeding males and females are dull, streaky brown and closely resemble female sparrows or other bishops, making identification more difficult outside the breeding season.

It is one of the smallest members of the bishop and widowbird group, Euplectes.

Key field marks

• Breeding male: golden-yellow crown, nape, and rump against black face, throat, breast, and back
• Non-breeding male and female: streaky buff-brown overall, small size, and a stubby conical bill
• Smaller and more compact than most other bishops
• Yellow shoulder patch may show in some plumages

Similar species

• Southern Red Bishop and other red bishops show scarlet rather than yellow in breeding male plumage.
• Yellow Bishop (Euplectes capensis) is a larger, different species with yellow confined mainly to the shoulder and rump against an otherwise black body, and prefers different habitat (grassy hillsides rather than marshes).
• Female and non-breeding plumages across bishop species are very similar and best told apart by the accompanying breeding males or by range.

Range

Widely distributed across sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal and Mauritania east to Sudan and Ethiopia, and south through East Africa to South Africa; also introduced in parts of the West Indies and elsewhere.

Habitat

Inhabits marshes, wet grassland, flooded rice fields, and seasonally inundated grassy areas, often near open water.

Movements

Generally resident but locally nomadic, tracking seasonal changes in water levels and grass seed availability; may form large flocks outside the breeding season.

Behavior

Gregarious outside the breeding season, often joining large mixed-species flocks of seed-eating birds in grassland and farmland. Breeding males are highly territorial, performing conspicuous bouncing display flights over their territory.

Voice

Gives thin, buzzy chirps and a wheezy, insect-like song, often uttered during the male's low bouncing flight display over grass.

Feeding

Feeds primarily on grass seeds and small seeds picked from the ground or seedheads, supplemented with insects.

Nesting and breeding

The male builds a small, woven, ball-shaped nest of grass low in marsh vegetation or grass tussocks and displays with a distinctive slow, bouncing flight to attract females. The species is polygynous, and males may mate with several females that each raise a brood in separate nests within his territory.