Bishop Wida
| Bishop Wida | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bishop's Wida ( Euplectes gierowii ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Euplectes gierowii | ||||||||||||
| Cabanis , 1880 |
The Bischofs-Wida or Bischofsweber ( Euplectes gierowii ) belongs within the family of the weaver birds (Ploceidae) to the genus of fire weavers ( Euplectes ).
features
The stocky and short-tailed Bischofs-Wida is 15 cm tall and 23–36 g in weight, the female is slightly lighter. In the male, the upper half of the head to the forehead, ear covers and throat are black, the thick, conical beak metal gray. The top of the tail, wings and underside are black, the legs brown. In the breeding dress, the male shows a broad, orange-red neck up to the back of the head, with a scarf-like collar that becomes narrower towards the chest and which turns yellow on the upper back. In the plain dress, the male, like the female and the young birds, is dark, on the upper side striped with black spots on the chest, and wide and long stripes over the eyes, the ear covers are brownish.
distribution and habitat
The Bischofs-Wida are native to Africa south of the Sahara and inhabit high, moist grassland and arable land between 700 and 1600 m.
The following subspecies can be distinguished:
- E. g. Ansorgei ( E. Hartert , 1899), in Cameroon , in the Central African Republic , in the north of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , in South Sudan , in the west and south-west of Ethiopia , in Uganda and in the west of Kenya
- E. g. Friederichseni Fischer & A. Reichenow , 1884, in the south of Kenya, in Tanzania , smaller, with a wider chest stripe. The orange on the back extends further back
- E. g. gierowii Cabanis , 1880, nominate form , in the southwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the northwest of Angola
nutrition
Bischofs-Wida feed mainly on grass seeds, but also on insects such as flying ants and termites .
Reproduction
The breeding season in the Congo is between May and August, in Uganda between April and October and December, in Kenya in May, in Tanzania between April and June and in December.
Hazardous situation
The Bischofs-Wida is considered not endangered ( Least Concern ).
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c T. Stevenson, J. Fanshawe: Birds of East Africa. Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. Princeton University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-691-12665-8 .
- ↑ a b c Handbook of the Birds of the World
- ↑ Euplectes gierowii in the IUCN 2016-3 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: BirdLife International, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
