Euplectes franciscanus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Orange Bishop sighting in Kibale National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 345th most-seen of the 366 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Orange Bishop in Kibale National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
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.
7th of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Orange Bishop sightings, Kibale National Park ranks 7th at under 5%. The best odds are in Murchison Falls National Park (Uganda, about 40%), Awash National Park (Ethiopia, about 20%) and Niokolo-Koba National Park (Senegal, about 10%).
Same genus: Euplectes
The closest relatives of the Orange Bishop that you can see in Kibale National Park (genus Euplectes, Bishops and Widowbirds) are Black Bishop (about 10%) and Red Bishop (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 Kibale National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
