The northern red bishop was first described by Paul Erdmann Isert in 1789 in Accra, Ghana.[3] Euplectes directly translates to “good weaver,” while franciscanus relates to the Franciscans, a religious order from the 12th century that symbolized the crimson color.
The northern red bishop was previously a subspecies of its neighboring species, the southern red bishop (Euplectes orix). Today, these two are classified as separate, distinct species; separated by the equator, the northern red bishop inhabits the northern continent of Africa, while the southern red bishop resides in the south. Molecular phylogenetic data in 2007 supported these two species as having a sister relationship.[4] The northern red bishop is easily distinguished by the male’s continuous red chin.
Its closest relative, aside from the southern red bishop, is the black bishop (Euplectes gierowii), native to sub-Saharan Africa.[4] There are to-date no known described subspecies of the northern red bishop. There have been speculations of the bird being part of a superspecies with the southern red bishop (Euplectes orix) and Zanzibar red bishop (Euplectes nigroventris),[2] but molecular data does not support this claim.
Disclaimer
This video is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only, not for promotion or sale of birds, so we do not serve any requests related to marketing of pets including birds. Please press Play button in the middle of the image to watch the video.