Southern Red Bishop

The Southern Red Bishop is a compact weaver of sub-Saharan Africa's marshes and rank grassland. Outside the breeding season it is easy to overlook, resembling a streaky brown sparrow, but breeding males transform into one of the continent's most eye-catching small birds with a fiery red-and-black plumage pattern.

Males are polygynous, defending small territories of reed or grass where they weave globular nests to attract multiple mates, giving the species its alternate name of red-collared or grenadier weaver in some regions.

• Breeding male: Black face, throat, crown, belly, and vent contrast sharply with scarlet-red nape, back, breast, and rump
• Body feathers are short and dense, built for the dense reed and grass habitat rather than long-distance flight
• Wings and tail are blackish-brown, short and rounded, not showy
• Female and nonbreeding male: Streaky buff-brown overall, sparrow-like, with a stout conical bill
• Distinguished from other red bishops (such as Northern Red Bishop) by the extent of black on the crown and face and by range

Breeding males acquire the red-and-black plumage through a molt before the breeding season; outside this period they molt into an eclipse plumage that closely resembles females. Females and nonbreeding males show buffy-brown, heavily streaked plumage with a paler belly, offering camouflage in grass and reeds. The bill is stout and conical, dark in breeding males and paler horn-colored in nonbreeding birds.

Found across sub-Saharan Africa in reedbeds, marshes, rank grassland, and cultivated areas near water. The species is resident to locally nomadic, often moving in response to seasonal flooding and grass seed availability, and forms large flocks outside the breeding season.

Southern Red Bishops feed mainly on grass and grain seeds, supplemented with insects, foraging in flocks on the ground or clinging to grass stems. Males build multiple woven nests within a territory, displaying with fluffed plumage and buzzy, chattering calls to attract females, who select a nest and add the soft lining. Outside the breeding season, bishops gather in large mixed flocks with other weavers and queleas.