Black bishop
Euplectes gierowii Cabanis, 1880
The black bishop (Euplectes gierowii) is a species in the family Ploceidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 27 g to 29.6 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the black bishop
- Weight
- 27 g – 29.6 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Granivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the black bishop live?
Not recorded
What is the black bishop?
The black bishop (Euplectes gierowii) is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to Africa south of the Sahara. Three subspecies are recognised.
From the Wikipedia article “Black bishop” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_bishop&oldid=1379257638), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the black bishop endangered?
The black bishop is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the black bishop classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyPloceidae
- genusEuplectes
- SpeciesEuplectes gierowii Cabanis, 1880
Other names and names in other languages (27)
- BLBIEnglish
- bisbe de GierowCatalan
- snovač GierowůvCzech
- esgob duWelsh
- Angola IldvæverDanish
- BischofsweberGerman
- oranĝdorsa teksbirdoEsperanto
- Obispo negroSpanish
- kultakauluspiispaFinnish
- Euplecte de GierowFrench
- narančastoleđa pletiljaCroatian
- Vescovo neroItalian
- クロキンランチョウJapanese
- juodasis aksominis audėjasLithuanian
- Zwarte VuurweverDutch
- ildkragebispNorwegian
- wikłacz kryzowanyPolish
- bispo-pretoPortuguese
- Чёрно-рыжий ткачикRussian
- Чёрный огненный бархатный ткачRussian
- tkáčik biskupskýSlovak
- Crni biskupSerbian
- orangekragad eldvävareSwedish
- Kara PiskoposTurkish
- вайдаг чорнийUkrainian
- 黑寡婦鳥Chinese
- 黑巧织雀Chinese
Relatives of the black bishop
Other species in the same genus Euplectes.
Southern red bishop
Euplectes orix
Long-tailed widowbird
Euplectes progne
Northern red bishop
Euplectes franciscanus
Yellow-crowned bishop
Euplectes afer
Jackson's widowbird
Euplectes jacksoni
Yellow bishop
Euplectes capensis
CompareBlack bishop vs Southern red bishopBlack bishop vs Long-tailed widowbirdBlack bishop vs Northern red bishopBlack bishop vs Yellow-crowned bishop
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the black bishop?
An adult black bishop weighs 27 g – 29.6 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the black bishop endangered?
The black bishop is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the black bishop?
The black bishop (Euplectes gierowii) belongs to the family Ploceidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Black bishop (Euplectes gierowii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-bishop
“Black bishop (Euplectes gierowii).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-bishop.
@misc{black_bishop_2026,
title = {Black bishop (Euplectes gierowii)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-bishop},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}