Introduction

The Black Bishop was collected by Otto Schutt, a German railway engineer who worked in various countries, being in Angola in 1878-1879, where he collected many birds. Paul Gierow accompanied Schutt on his travels, and Cabanis named the bishop after Gierow, as Cabanis had already named other bird species after Schutt (eg. Black-billed Turaco Tauraco schuetti).

Bocage (1893) restricted the type locality from Angola to Cuango River, Malanje Province. This was not based on ornithological publications or from label data, but Bocage drew on his regional knowledge and possible routes taken by Schutt. Schutt wrote a book on his travels in Angola (Reisen Im Sudwestlichen Becken Des Congo).

The first illustration of the Black Bishop was published in Cabanis (1880). The second illustration was published by Fischer (1884), of subspecies friederichseni (see Biology of the Black Bishop).

Scientific citation

Meaning of names

First English name

Alternate names

Collector

Date collected

Locality collected

Type specimens

Distribution. The Black Bishop is found in widely separated populations which form 3 subspecies (see map below, based on Birds of Africa):
E. g. ansorgei, or Northern Black Bishop, from Cameroon across to Ethiopia and western Kenya (see red on map). The breeding male of this subspecies has more extensive black on the crown and throat, a narrower orange collar on the upper breast, and the lowermost underparts are buff with broad dark streaks.
E. g. gierowii, Angola Black Bishop, in DRCongo and Angola (see blue on map). The male of this subspecies has the mantle yellow, not orange.
E. g. friederichseni, or Southern Black Bishop, in southern Kenya and Tanzania (see green on map). The male male has the hindcrown and nape to back bright orange, rump buff with dark feather centres, a broad orange band around the breast, black lower breast and belly, buff thighs and undertail-coverts.
In most parts of its range, the Black Bishop is uncommon to rare. The subspecies may be emerging species.

Habitat. The Black Bishop inhabits tall grassland, in swampy or drier bushy areas, and also scrub and sugar cane. In Kenya it is found in areas with more than 1000 mm annual rainfall, whereas in Tanzania it occurs in drier country. It is often found with the Black-winged Bishop in East Africa.

Food. The diet of the Black Bishop includes seeds and insects, the latter including winged ants and alate termites. It forages mainly in pairs and small groups, and joins mixed species flocks in the non-breeding season.

Breeding. The Black Bishop is polygynous, and the male holds a territory containing three or four nests. The nest is coarsely woven, with a large entrance high on one side. It is built with grass, and lined with grass seedheads. The nest is usually placed above the above ground in elephant grass, attached to one vertical stalk and some leaf blades, although one nest was in the fork of a shrub.

The clutch is 2-4 eggs, and the eggs are bright blue, sometimes with fine black or red-brown spotting. Nothing else is known about its breeding habits.