Euplectes franciscanus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
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 Queen Elizabeth National Park on a given day, based on 24 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 305th most-seen of the 434 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Orange Bishop in Queen Elizabeth National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June to April, the lowest months. That is one of Queen Elizabeth National Park's wettest months, with about 130 mm of rain against 15 mm in January.
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.
6th of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Orange Bishop sightings, Queen Elizabeth National Park ranks 6th 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 Queen Elizabeth National Park (genus Euplectes, Bishops and Widowbirds) are Red Bishop (about 30%), Fan-tailed Widowbird (about 20%) and White-winged Widowbird (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 Queen Elizabeth National Park (24 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.
