Southern Red Bishop Euplectes orix Scientific name definitions

13 cm; male 21–30 g, female 17–26 g. Short-tailed bishop. Male breeding has black face mask formed by forehead, forecrown, lores, cheek, chin and upper throat (extent of black varies individually), rest of head down to lower throat and upper breast red; nape, rump and uppertail coverts deep red to orange-red, mantle and back red-brown (rarely, streaked with black), upperwing and tail dusky gray-brown with pale fringing; lower breast, belly and flanks black, thighs brown, undertail coverts red; iris brown; bill black; tarsi brown. Male non-breeding has forehead to uppertail coverts brown with dark central streaks on feathers, yellowish supercilium, light brown lores, cheek and ear-coverts; wings and tail brown; chin and throat whitish, breast and flanks off-white to buff with narrow central streaks on feathers, belly, vent and undertail coverts white; iris brown, bill brown, tarsi brown to pinkish. Female is very like non-breeding male, and frequently indistinguishable except by measurements, but may be less heavily streaked on underparts . Juvenile resembles female, with broad buffy feather margins on upperparts, buffy wash on underparts until first molt.

E & S DRCongo, SW Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, S Kenya, Tanzania, W & S Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, N & E Botswana, Zimbabwe and C & S Mozambique S to South Africa, Swaziland and lowlands of Lesotho.

Tall grassland and cultivated areas in open country, usually near water; at 600–1500 m in E Africa, to 1700 m in Zimbabwe, and down to sea-level in South Africa.

Diet seeds and arthropods. Most common seeds consumed are those of maize (Zea mays), Eragrostis curvula, Setaria flabellata, Panicum maximum, Eleusine indica and wheat (Triticum); in Free State, in South Africa, 24 different plant seeds recorded, with most variety in summer, but greater crop mass in winter. Feeds at flowers of Phragmites australis and Leonotis, taking either nectar or insects. Insect food taken, especially when feeding young, includes beetles (Coleoptera), dragonflies (Odonata), caterpillars (Lepidoptera), flies (Diptera) and termites (Isoptera); termite alates caught on the wing, then eaten on ground or at perch. Spiders (Araneae) found in stomachs of chicks. In South Africa, forages with Common Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in seaweed on shoreline in Western Cape, feeding on kelp flies (Diptera) and their larvae, and takes kelp flies and the amphipod Talorchestia on Eastern Cape beaches. Generally two foraging sessions each day, in morning and in late afternoon, the birds gathering in daytime roosts in between. Forages in small flocks; in non-breeding season often in mixed flocks with Quelea quelea and Quelea erythrops, particularly when queleas are in minority.

Song, usually from perch, also in courtship flight or display , a hissing, prolonged sizzle, "tssssssss zeeeeeeeee tssipit­sipipi tsip-tsip-tsip". Short rattling call given in response to conspecifics flying over territory; "chip" call as contact; harsher "chak" in alarm.

Season Apr–Jun in Uganda and Kenya, Jan–Apr in Angola and DRCongo, Mar–May in Rwanda, Feb–May in Tanzania, Dec–Apr in Zambia and Malawi, Feb–Mar in Mozambique, Feb–May in Namibia, and Dec–Mar in Botswana and Zimbabwe; in South Africa, Jul–Dec in winter-rainfall region of Western Cape, Oct–Mar/Apr in other regions; some birds double-brooded. Mating system highly polygynous, up to seven females nesting on a male territory at one time, and one male having up to 18 social mates in single breeding season; estimated extra-pair paternity in one colony 17% (and suggested that extra-pair matings by female represent insurance against temporary infertility of resident territory-holder). Male threat display emphasizing black face mask surrounded by red ruff. Often in dense colonies of several hundred birds in reedbeds, with territories as small as 3 m², whereas territories in open grassland up to 300 m² and nests in small groups, or even isolated males; some colony sites used annually, others only sporadically. Male courtship displays involve fluffing-out of body feathers and making flying approach ("bumble-flight") to female in territory, followed by perched courtship, swivelling around and calling; male mating success dependent primarily on nest-building, with number of nests constructed the best guide to individual reproductive output; breeding success influenced by rainfall in all years, but health of male (as measured by blood parasites and immune responses) a significant factor in some seasons only; two-year-old males produced fewer nests and were less successful in attracting females than were older males. Nest built by male, starting with a cross-bridge between two vertical supports, can be completed in single day, but usually takes 2–3 days, oval, with side entrance beneath a porch, tightly woven from thin strips of reed or grass blades, female adds lining of plant down and grass seedheads, continuing during incubation (initially eggs visible through side walls); most often placed in reeds, sedges or bulrushes (Typha) standing in water, in Phragmites reedbeds often 2 m above water, but sometimes in maize or other crops in fields, in bamboo or Indigofera thickets, or even in privet (Ligustrum) hedges; in Western Cape (South Africa) some nests occupied by Brant's climbing mouse (Dendromus mesomelas), which does not harm eggs; old nests may be used by other species, including Tawny-flanked Prinia (Prinia subflava), Black-chested Prinia (Prinia flavicans) and Bronze Mannikin (Spermestes cucullata), and regularly by Zebra Waxbill (Amandava subflava) in some regions. Clutch typically 3 eggs (mean of 670 clutches in South Africa), some clutches double normal size presumed result of two females laying in same nest, eggs pale bluish-green to turquoise, rarely with few dark spots, average size of 268 eggs 19·2 x 14·1 mm (South Africa); incubation by female only, in KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) eggs covered for only 40% of daylight hours, incubation period 12–13 days; chicks fed by female, primarily by regurgitation, with seeds from early stage, nestling period 11–15 days, young liable to leave nest after 10 days if disturbed. Parasitism by Diederik Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx caprius) regular, rates varying from 7% to 50% (and 3–4 cuckoos involved at large colonies); male bishops attack cuckoos at colony, not only on own territories, and this apparently effective, as high rates of parasitism found only at small colonies where all territory-holders may be absent at same time. Fledging success (from eggs laid) in South Africa at two Western Cape colonies 45% and 35%, over four successive years at Eastern Cape colony varied from 13% to 38%, over two seasons in KwaZulu-Natal 9%, in Free State in one year 34%, for two seasons in Gauteng 25%; predation often the most important source of nest failure, snakes, rodents e.g. especially rats (Rattus), common slender mongoose (Galerella sanguinea) and water monitor (Varanus niloticus) destroying up to 40% of eggs and chicks, and Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis) and White-browed Coucal (Centropus superciliosus) preying on adults; nest height has no apparent influence on breeding success, although flooding a significant cause of chick mortality in some years. First breeding by males from second year after hatching, by most females at 1 year. In ringing studies, maximum longevity more than 12 years; estimated annual mortality 44–47%, but over 17-year period in Malawi 28·5%.