Euplectes franciscanus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The northern red bishop or orange bishop (Euplectes franciscanus) is a small passerine bird in the family Ploceidae. It is part of the largest genus in the family with over 60 different species. Its sister species is the Southern red bishop (Euplectes orix). This species is most recognizable by the bright reddish orange with contrasting black plumage displayed by the breeding male. It is most common throughout the northern African continent but has also been introduced to areas in the western hemisphere.
The northern red bishop was first described by Paul Erdmann Isert in 1789 in Accra, Ghana. Euplectes directly translates to "good weaver," while franciscanus relates to the Franciscans, a religious order from the 12th century that symbolized the crimson color.
The northern red bishop was previously a subspecies of its neighboring species, the southern red bishop (Euplectes orix). Today, these two are classified as separate, distinct species; separated by the equator, the northern red bishop inhabits the northern continent of Africa, while the southern red bishop resides in the south. Molecular phylogenetic data in 2007 supported these two species as having... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 3 | Niokolo-Koba National Park | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 4 | Kidepo Valley National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 5 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 6 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 7 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abuja | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | |
| 2 | N'Djamena | 🇹🇩 Chad | |
| 3 | Accra | 🇬🇭 Ghana | |
| 4 | Lomé | 🇹🇬 Togo | |
| 5 | Kuwait City | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | |
| 6 | Serrekunda | 🇬🇲 Gambia | |
| 7 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pairi Daiza | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 2 | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Columbus Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Warsaw Zoo | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 6 | Houston Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 8 | African Dawn Bird and Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | National Aviary | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center and Woods Garden | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | herpetarium warszawskiego ZOO | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 12 | akwarium warszawskiego ZOO | 🇵🇱 Poland |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Orange Bishop sighting in N'Djamena on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 58th most-seen of the 70 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Orange Bishop in N'Djamena on a given day, against under 5% in March, the lowest month. That is one of N'Djamena's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain against 190 mm in August. June, August and October–December have too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Orange Bishop sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 8 cities where we can rate Orange Bishop sightings, N'Djamena ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Abuja (Nigeria, about 10%).
Same family: Ploceidae
The closest relatives of the Orange Bishop that you can see in N'Djamena (family Ploceidae, Weavers and Allies) are Village Weaver (about 30%), Black-headed Weaver (about 20%) and Red-billed Quelea (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Orange Bishop is recorded against all the birds logged in N'Djamena (6 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
