Birdfinding.info ⇒ The western form of Yellow-crowned Bishop is uncommon and localized in West African wetlands. Areas where it is locally numerous include the Senegal and Gambia River bottomlands and Mole National Park in Ghana. The introduced Iberian population is expanding and can be seen at many locations, most readily at the Estuário do Tejo Nature Reserve and Vila Franca de Xira near Lisbon. In Puerto Rico, consistent sites include the Caño Tiburones Natural Reserve, the Barceloneta rice fields, and the ponds along Coco Beach Boulevard in Río Grande. The tiny Jamaican population persists mainly at the Portmore Sewage Ponds near Hellshire.
“Yellow-chested Bishop”
Euplectes afer afer
Family: Ploceidae
Western and central Africa.
Approximate distribution of the Yellow-crowned Bishop, both “Yellow-chested” and “Yellow-crowned” forms. © BirdLife International 2018
Patchily distributed in marshes and humid grasslands of the Sahel and tropical western Africa from Senegal and southern Mauritania east to southwestern Sudan and locally south into central Africa to northwestern Angola and western and northern portions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
An introduced population is well-established on the Iberian Peninsula in Portugal and southwestern Spain, and appears to be expanding north and east, especially along the coasts, into France.
Another apparently well-established population exists on Puerto Rico, in wetlands along the northern coast from Caño Tiburones to Río Grande.
Smaller introduced populations are more tenuously established in Jamaica (localized on the west side of Kingston), the United Arab Emirates (Dubai to Fujairah), and possibly also in Kuwait.
Identification
Males in breeding plumage are unique and unmistakable: bright-yellow on the upperparts, chest, and undertail, with a black face, wings, and belly.
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, male in breeding plumage. (Estuário do Tejo Nature Reserve, Portugal; August 19, 2020.) © Ricardo Salgueiro
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, male puffed up in breeding display. (Estuário do Tejo Nature Reserve, Portugal; July 29, 2019.) © Teresa Cohen
When displaying, the male puffs out its plumage, at times appearing almost spherical. When raised, the long yellow feathers on its back take on the appearance of big yellow backpack.
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, basic plumage. (Estuário do Tejo Nature Reserve, Portugal; July 7, 2021.) © Rui Pereira
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, basic plumage. (Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal; December 2, 2018.) © Teresa Cohen
Females and males in basic plumage are sparrow-like, with heavily streaked brown upperparts and lightly-streaked pale underparts.
The facial markings are strong: a bold buffy or yellowish eyebrow contrast with a thinner, but pronounced, dark eyeline, both extending far behind the eye. The crown is blackish with fine pale streaks.
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, basic plumage. (Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal; January 14, 2021.) © Soares Teodoro
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer—apparently a male showing a few traces of breeding plumage. (Estuário do Tejo Nature Reserve, Portugal; July 8, 2021.) © Luis Arinto
Males in transition into and out of breeding plumage go through various irregular blotchy stages.
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, male in transitional plumage. (Estuário do Tejo Nature Reserve, Portugal; September 6, 2018.) © Teresa Cohen
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, male in transitional plumage. (Barrinha de Esmoriz, Portugal; September 27, 2019.) © José Nunes
Notes
Monotypic form, one of two distinct forms of Yellow-crowned Bishop (afer).
More Images of the “Yellow-chested Bishop”
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, male in breeding plumage. (Gamadji Saré, Saint-Louis, Senegal; October 5, 2018.) © Bram Piot
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, male in breeding plumage. (Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal; July 13, 2013.) © António Gonçalves
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, male in transitional plumage. (Estuário do Tejo Nature Reserve, Portugal; September 27, 2017.) © Rogério Rodrigues
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, male in transitional plumage. (Llobregat Delta, Barcelona, Spain; November 28, 2006.) © Carles Pastor
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, male in transitional plumage. (Barrinha de Esmoriz, Portugal; October 12, 2017.) © Luis Rodrigues
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, male in transitional plumage. (Doñana National Park, Spain; December 11, 2021.) © Olli Tenovuo
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, basic plumage. (Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal; March 18, 2019.) © Teresa Cohen
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, basic plumage. (Estuário do Tejo Nature Reserve, Portugal; July 7, 2021.) © Rui Pereira
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, basic plumage. (Herdade da Alfarófia, Elvas, Portugal; September 16, 2020.) © António Xeira
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, basic plumage. (Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal; April 16, 2021.) © Teresa Cohen
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, basic plumage. (Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal; November 12, 2019.) © Rui Pereira
“Yellow-chested Bishop”, E. a. afer, basic plumage. (Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal; December 3, 2018.) © Luis Arinto
References
BirdLife International. 2018. Euplectes afer. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22719164A131990926. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22719164A131990926.en. (Accessed February 17, 2022.)
Borrow, N., and R. Demey. 2004. Birds of Western Africa. Princeton University Press.
eBird. 2022. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed February 17, 2022.)
Haynes-Sutton, A., A. Downer, R. Sutton, and Y.-J. Rey-Millet. 1986. A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Jamaica. Princeton University Press.
Kirwan, G.M., A. Levesque, M. Oberle, and C.J. Sharpe. 2019. Birds of the West Indies. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
Raffaele, H. 1989. A Guide to the Birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton University Press.
Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press.
Sinclair, I., and P. Ryan. 2003. Birds of Africa South of the Sahara. Princeton University Press.
Svensson, L., K. Mullarney, and D. Zetterström. 2009. Birds of Europe (Second Edition). Princeton University Press.
Xeno-Canto. 2022. Yellow-crowned Bishop – Euplectes afer. https://xeno-canto.org/species/Euplectes-afer. (Accessed February 17, 2022.)