Yellow Bishop (Euplectes capensis) [XC57832]
by Rory Nefdt from Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, South Africa (call)
Yellow Bishop (Euplectes capensis) [XC280292]
by Ciira Maina from Tzaneen area, Limpopo, South Africa (call)
Subspecies
Molecular data indicate that this species is a short-tailed widowbird, not closely allied to the bishop group. Has hybridized with Fan-tailed Widowbird (Euplectes axillaris) in captivity. Other proposed subspecies are sabinjo (described from Sabinjo, in eastern DRCongo), kilimensis (from Moshi, in north-eastern Tanzania), litoris (from Morogoro, in southern Tanzania), transvaalensis (from Woodbush, in central Limpopo, in northern South Africa) and zambesiensis (from Boror, in Mozambique), all synonymized with crassirostris; and, in South Africa, macrorhynchus (described from Klawer, on R Olifants, in north-western Western Cape), included in nominate, and knysnae (from Knysna, in south-eastern Western Cape), treated as a synonym of approximans.
The following 6 subspecies are recognised:
phoenicomerus Gray, GR, 1862 - Highlands of south-eastern Nigeria and western and central Cameroon. Also Bioko I (Fernando Póo).
xanthomelas Rüppell, 1840 - Highlands of Ethiopia.
crassirostris (Ogilvie-Grant, 1907) - South-eastern Sudan, western and eastern Uganda, eastern and south-eastern DRCongo, Rwanda and Burundi, central Kenya and coastal and highland Tanzania south to Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe plateau and highlands, north-eastern South Africa and central and southern Mozambique.
angolensis Neunzig, 1928 - Highlands of Angola.
capensis (Linnaeus, 1766) - Southern South Africa (Western Cape east to Knysna region).
approximans (Cabanis, 1851) - Eastern South Africa (from Gauteng south to Knysna), western Swaziland and Lesotho.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet